After dropping the first two contests of the series, the Heartland baseball team rebounded for two victories over Lewis & Clark Community College on Sunday to move to 17-9 (9-3) on the season. The Hawks fell 6-4 and 8-6 at Lewis & Clark on Friday before defeating the Trailblazers 15-9 and 3-2 on Sunday.
 
Game 1 @ Lewis & Clark
The Hawks traveled to Alton to battle the Trailblazers in a doubleheader on Friday. In game one of the series, the home team scored six runs in the third frame to secure a 6-4 victory.
 
Lewis & Clark rattled off six hits in the frame before the Hawks responded with four tallies in the fifth to make it 6-4, which held as the final score. Tommy Atkinson led off the inning with a solo home run before TJ Williams, Brady Davidson and Corey Boyette each singled. Patrick Gardner followed with a two-run double to center field. Williams and Davidson each registered two hits for the Hawks in the loss.
 
Game 2 @ Lewis & Clark
Lewis & Clark jumped out in front early in game two as well. An Adam Price sacrifice fly gave the Hawks a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first before the Trailblazers scored four runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 4-1.
 
Davidson narrowed the deficit in the second with an RBI double to make it 4-2. Davidson would later tie the contest at 4-4 with a two-run homer in the fourth, but the Trailblazers responded with home runs by Ethan Wielt in the fourth and Jaxson Grubbs in the fifth to give them a 7-4 lead. Alex McNiven added an RBI double in the sixth to extend the advantage to 8-4.
 
A two-RBI single by Max Hennemann in the seventh made it 8-6, but that was all the Hawks could muster in the loss. Davidson led the charge for the Hawks with three hits.
 
Game 3 vs. Lewis & Clark
Heartland returned to The Corn Crib on Sunday looking to even the series. An 11-run fourth inning propelled the Hawks to a 15-9 victory in game three of the series.
 
The Trailblazers scored a run in the top of the first before Davidson tied the contest with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. Lewis & Clark added three more runs in the fourth, but the Hawks again tied it as Kyle Jannenga singled home a run, and Williams drove in two more with a double. A bases loaded walk by Davidson and an Aidan McNamee hit by pitch extended the lead to 6-4. Gardner added a two-run double moments later. McNamee would eventually score on a wild pitch before a Hennemann three-RBI double gave the Hawks a 12-4 advantage.
 
Lewis & Clark would not go down quietly, however, as the visitors scored five times in the fifth to make things interesting at 12-9. Bases loaded walks by McNamee and Gardner in the bottom of the inning and a wild pitch extended the Hawk lead to 15-9. Will Fletcher held the Trailblazers in check for the final 2.1 frames, yielding one hit and three walks. Gardner finished with three hits.
 
Game 4 vs. Lewis & Clark
The series finale was a pitching battle, as neither club recorded a run until Grubbs drove in a tally on an error in the sixth to make it 1-0 Lewis & Clark. The Trailblazers would tack on one more run in the seventh. A Davidson RBI groundout and a miscue by the Trailblazers allowed the Hawks to tie it at 2-2 in the eighth.
 
After allowing two baserunners in the ninth, Michael Vitellaro worked his way out of a jam to set the Hawks up for a walk-off win. Jannenga walked to begin the bottom of the ninth. Moments later, Hennemann laced a single to right field. A misplay by Lewis & Clark's right fielder allowed Jannenga to score and the Hawks secured a comeback win.
 
Gardner received the start for the Hawks, allowing one run (unearned) on two hits, with three walks and four strikeouts in six innings. Vitellaro received the win in relief after yielding one run on five hits with five punchouts in three innings pitched.
 
The Hawks return to action at 1 pm Friday at Illinois Central College to begin a four-game series with the Cougars.