Entering a pivotal four-game series that would have major implications surrounding the Region-24 regular season baseball champion, NJCAA DII No. 7-ranked Heartland and No. 16-ranked Lincoln Land both held a 19-5 overall region record. In four highly-contested battles, the two teams would split the series on Saturday and Monday to remain tied (21-7) atop the Region-24 standings ahead of the final week of the regular season.
 
Game 1
The Hawks used a seven-run frame to take game one of the series 10-7 on Saturday at The Corn Crib. Lincoln Land would strike first with a run in the second before the Hawks took a 7-1 lead in the fourth. Cale Steinbaugh delivered an RBI-single before Kaden Griffitts drove in two more tallies on a double to right field. A TJ Williams run-scoring hit and a Jesse Contreras sacrifice fly made it 5-1. Corey Boyette added a two-run single to extend the lead to 7-1.
 
A run by the Loggers in the fifth and five more in the sixth tied the contest at 7-7. An Aidan McNamee two-run double broke the tie to give Heartland a 9-7 advantage. The Hawks would score one more tally on a Lincoln Land error to make it 10-7. Michael Vitellaro entered to secure the final 10 outs and the win for the Hawks, allowing one run on three hits with four punch-outs in 3.1 innings.
 
Game 2
Offense was hard to come by for the Hawks in the second game of the day Saturday. The home team managed just four hits in a 9-0 defeat. The Loggers scored four times in the first, a run apiece in the third and fourth frames, two more in the fifth and their final tally in the seventh. Williams, Contreras, Beau Polickey and Max Hennemann each had a hit for Heartland in the loss.
 
Game 3
The second day of the series saw the Hawks travel to Illinois-Springfield on Monday. The Hawks would rebound for a 12-2 win in five frames in the opening game of the day. After a scoreless first inning, the Hawks scored five times in the second to take a 5-0 lead. Williams and Tommy Atkinson each had run-scoring hits before Boyette launched a three-run homer to right field to make it 5-0.
 
Run-scoring hits by Boyette, Brady Davidson and McNamee and an RBI-groundout by Atkinson in the fourth extended the advantage to 10-0. The Loggers would score twice in the bottom of the frame, but an error by Lincoln Land and a Davidson sacrifice fly made it 12-2 in the fifth.
 
Jacob O'Day picked up the win in five innings for the Hawks, allowing two runs on four hits, with one walk and five strikeouts. Boyette paced the Hawks offensively with three hits.
 
Game 4
Despite tying the game in the top of the ninth, the Hawks would ultimately fall 9-8 in the series finale on Monday. A Contreras RBI-double followed by bases-loaded walks by Steinbaugh and Griffitts gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead in the first. Davidson would score on a wild pitch moments later to make it 4-0.
 
The Loggers responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame, and a run each in the fourth and sixth frames to tie the game at 4-4. A four-run seventh gave Lincoln Land an 8-4 advantage.
 
Run-scoring hits by Boyette and Polickey in the eighth narrowed the deficit to 8-6 for the Hawks. RBI-doubles by Contreras and Davidson tied the contest at 8-8 in the ninth, but Drew Hendrickson delivered the winning hit in the bottom of the ninth for the Loggers. Williams, Contreras, Davidson and Polickey each had two hits in the loss
 
The Hawks return to action at 10 am Wednesday at The Corn Crib for a midweek game against Lake Land College.