The Heartland softball team picked up two victories at John Wood Community College on Thursday. The Hawks defeated the Blazers 14-1 in game one of the afternoon before winning game two 14-5 to move to 18-19 (5-6) on the season.
 
Game 1
The Hawks played well on both sides of the ball in the opening game of the day on Thursday, finishing with 16 hits compared to just one by the Blazers. Erin Anderson singled home the game's opening run in the first to make it 1-0 Heartland.
 
An eight-run third inning by the Hawks extended the advantage to 9-0. Concetta DeBord, Madi Smith, Lilly Hicks, Shayne Immke and Ellie Downing each had run-scoring hits for the Hawks in the frame.
 
An RBI-double by Smith and a Raeghan Morefield sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 11-0 in the fourth. After the Blazers scored once in the bottom of the fourth, an RBI-single by DeBord, a run-scoring double by Morefield and a miscue by the Blazers pushed the lead even further to 14-1 in the fifth, which held as the final score.
 
Hicks paced the Hawks with four hits. Immke, DeBord, Smith and Morefield each had two hits. Kaitlyn Robinson threw well in a complete-game effort, yielding one run (unearned) on one hit, with two walks and five strikeouts.
 
Game 2
Game two was much of the same for the Hawks offensively in a 14-5 win in five frames. Singles by Benedict and Immke and a Downing RBI-groundout to begin the contest set up an Anderson two-run triple to give the Hawks a 3-0 advantage. Morefield added an RBI-groundout of her own to make it 4-0.
 
After a John Wood tally in the bottom of the first, a two-run double by Downing and an error by the Blazers pushed across four more runs for the Hawks in the second to make it 8-1. RBI-singles by Immke and DeBord in the third extended the lead to 10-1.
 
The Blazers would respond with three runs in the bottom of the frame, and one more in the fourth to make things interesting at 10-5. But, the Hawks took little time to answer in the fifth. Downing laced an RBI-triple before a Morefield single made it 12-5. Kennadi Rico drove-in a run with a groundout before a John Wood error allowed Morefield to score as the Hawks enjoyed a 14-5 lead. Benedict, Immke and DeBord had three hits apiece for the Hawks.
Heartland returns to action at Noon on Saturday, as it hosts Danville Area Community College for a doubleheader at The Corn Crib.