Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
    On the cloudy afternoon on March 31st, the Heartland Softball team traveled to East Peoria, Illinois, for a doubleheader against the Illinois Central College Cougars. The offense collected 10 hits and 11 runs through the 14 innings. The pitching staff worked through the two games, facing 72 batters.

    Game one was a very close matchup until the last inning as the Cougars found momentum in the bottom of the sixth. Tayla Eaves threw every pitch with 78 of her 110 pitches coming out at strikes. The sophomore game up eight earned runs on 14 hits. In 37 batters faced, the hurler only allowed one free base while striking out three.
    Leading the offense was Ellie Ward, who provided the only lead for the Hawks in the second with a two-run home run. The catcher had two hits in three at-bats, scoring two runs and securing a free base. Having a multiple-hit game were Araceli Condie-Espinosa and Sienna Aragones.
    The Hawks dropped game one 6-14, not due to a lack of performance at the plate or in their field.

    Game two held another strong performance at the plate with an action-packed second inning once again. After three consecutive walks to the first three batters, Kendall Lowery singled, scoring two runs. Nataliha Oleniczak doubled to center to score two more runs to improve the score to 4-4. Oleniczak advanced to third on the attempted throw to home. Due to her aggressive base running, the shortstop scored on a wild pitch to provide the Hawks with their second lead of the day. Ward showed patience at the plate with two walks in her two at-bats, going 2-for-3 with three walks to end the doubleheader.
    On the mound, Keearrah Brown threw for the Hawks, facing 34 batters. The freshman allowed nine earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts in five innings. Heartland ended game two with a 5-13 loss in six innings. 

    Heartland Softball takes a week-long break after its April 1st game against Triton College is canceled. On April 7th, the Hawks will travel to Kankakee Community College to face the Cavaliers in a doubleheader.