Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4
    The first away games of the season were a long trip down south to Palatka and Jacksonville, Florida, for a three-day, four-game weekend. The competition was packed with tough games, each team coming from a top-20 national ranking.

    The first matchup of the weekend was the #11 St. Johns River Community College Vikings. Offensively, the middle of the lineup sparked the scoring for the Hawks in the fourth as Jake Parpet led the charge with a hit and an RBI to bring in the first run. Jimmy Anderson and Dom Kooistra added one hit to the total as well. The team ended with five hits to finish the 9-inning game. On the mound, Game One starter, sophomore Dylan Nagle, started things off with 4 innings pitched. Nagle ended up facing 18 batters and accumulated four strikeouts while only allowing one walk. Following the right-hander's performance was sophomore Ryan Anderson, tacking on two innings, only allowing two hits and striking out four batters. The closer for the first match-up was Tyler Ledvina, finishing the game, allowing only two hits, one walk, and no runs. With the strong battles at the plate and the mound, the Hawks were unable to finish out on top, falling short to the Vikings 2-5.

    The following day, the Hawks faced their toughest game of the weekend, as Heartland took on the #1-ranked team in the nation, Pasco-Hernando State College. The pitching staff saw a lot of action; four players took the mound through 6 innings. Jake Gimbel was the starter for two innings with two strikeouts and one walk. The notable performance of the game came from freshman Collin Lovelady, who faced 10 batters through two innings, sitting down three batters and only allowing one free base. Defensively, freshman catcher Daniel Bastidas added two hits to the six-hit total. Joining the one-hit club for the Hawks were Jimmy Anderson, Jake Troyner, Cal Darling, and Charlie Linderman. Heartland took the loss 2-16 to the Bobcats.  

    The final day was a double header against the #9 and #19 nationally-ranked teams taking a win and a loss to end the trip.

    The day started against the Kellogg Community College Bruins, where the Hawks landed on top 8-5. The pitching performance of the weekend came from Trevor Rehnstrom, who threw a total of four innings, facing 18 batters and accumulating five strikeouts. Coming in to close was freshman Andy Antonacci for three innings without allowing a single run, giving the Hawks the edge in the win. The plate appearances were strong throughout the entire game as the lineup worked top to bottom. Sophomore Charlie Linderman took charge for the Hawks with three hits in three plate appearances, driving in one run. Freshman TJ Jakubowski went two for four with a double. Increasing the lead for the team and securing the win was Kooistra with a two-run home run in the 6th inning.

    Finally, to round out the trip was one more face-off against South Florida State College. Offensively, the pitching staff tried to contain the bats of the Panters. Jack Olson started things off on the mound, throwing one inning and sitting down two batters. Normal, IL native, Devan Tupper, threw two innings before Kasey Griffin came in to close the trip off. The freshman threw a total of four innings without allowing a single free base and striking out five batters through 14 batters faced. The defense put in the work over the seven-inning stretch, coming up with 10 hits. Two of those came from shortstop Anderson, who also added on two runs, two RBI's, and a homerun for six total bases. Troyner stayed consistent through the weekend, adding another two hits to the total. Despite their attempted comeback in the final inning, the Hawks fell short to the Panthers 7-8.

    The Hawks are looking to make a strong comeback with two added games in the week. Both games taking place at the Corn Crib against the College of Lake County on Wednesday, February 18th, and Waubonsee Community College on Thursday, February 19th.