Heartland baseball secured a series win against Illinois Central College this past weekend, as the Hawks took three of four games over the Cougars. The Hawks defeated ICC 16-11 in game one before falling 5-1 in game two in East Peoria on Friday. A 9-6 victory in game three and a 12-4 win in game four moved the Hawks to 20-10 (12-4) on the season.
 
Game 1
The Hawks used a nine-run third inning to take game one of the series, 16-11. After the Cougars opened the contest with a pair of runs in the first, Beau Polickey got the Hawks on the board with an RBI single to make it 2-1 in favor of ICC.
 
Walks by TJ Williams and Jesse Contreras set Corey Boyette up with an RBI situation in the third, and the sophomore tied the game after reaching on an error. Brady Davidson followed with a two-run double to make it 4-2. Hit-by-pitches by Aidan McNamee and Patrick Gardner, followed by bases-loaded walks by Cale Steinbaugh and Polickey extended the advantage to 6-2. Williams and Boyette added RBI hits later in the frame as the Hawks took a 10-2 lead through three frames.
 
ICC would score two runs in the fourth, but Steinbaugh responded with an RBI-single in the sixth to make it 11-4. Boyette launched a two-run bomb in the seventh as the Hawks held a 13-4 lead. The Cougars responded with five runs in the bottom of the seventh before the Hawks scored twice in the eighth to make it 15-9.
 
An ICC RBI-double in the eighth narrowed the deficit to 15-10, but McNamee tacked-on another tally with a solo shot in the ninth. The Cougars would score once more in the ninth, but reliever Grant Aten secured the win for the Hawks.
 
Boyette finished the contest with three hits, while Williams, Davidson and McNamee each had a pair of base-knocks.
 
Game 2
The second game of the day on Friday was not as favorable for the Hawks offensively, as the Cougars defeated Heartland 5-1. The Hawks were limited to five hits in the contest, with two coming from Boyette. An error by ICC in the seventh accounted for the lone run for the Hawks in the defeat.
 
Joey Cecola received the loss for Heartland, throwing five innings and allowing three runs on seven hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts.
 
Game 3
Game three saw the Hawks get back on track in a 9-6 victory over the Cougars. The Hawks ignited the scoring in the first, as McNamee delivered a two-run single to make it 2-0. An error by ICC and a wild pitch allowed two more Heartland runs to score in the second to extend the lead to 4-0.
 
ICC would tack-on three tallies in the fourth before Jesse Contreras registered an RBI on a groundout to make it 5-3 Heartland. A Tyler Bishop home run in the fifth tied the contest at 5-5.
 
The Hawks would take the lead in the fifth on an RBI-groundout by Williams before Tommy Atkinson laced a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the sixth to give the Hawks some cushion at 9-5. The Cougars would score once in the top of the seventh, but that was all the visitors could muster as the Hawks held on for the win.
 
Game 4
The Hawks rounded-out the series with a 12-4 victory in game two of the afternoon over the Cougars. Williams scored on a passed ball in the first to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead before a Kyle Jannenga solo home run and a Max Hennemann RBI-groundout made it 3-0.
 
Three runs by the Cougars tied the contest at 3-3 before an RBI-single by Contreras and a bases loaded walk by Polickey gave the Hawks a 5-3 advantage in the fifth. After a Williams double and Contreras RBI-single in the sixth, Davidson delivered a two-run homer to make it 8-3. Polickey added a two-run triple later in the frame to extend the lead to 10-3.
 
After ICC scored once in the seventh, Davidson ended the contest with a two-run single in the bottom of the frame. Williams led the Hawks offensively with three hits, while Contreras and Davidson each had two hits.
 
The Hawks return to action against Vincennes University for a four-game series beginning at 1 pm on Saturday.