East Peoria, Ill. - The ICC baseball team (13-19, 7-7) dropped a pair of games in similar fashion to #2 Heartland in the opening games of the MWAC series at Thome Field on Friday. In the opener, the Cougars held a 3-2 lead heading into the sixth inning before the Hawks scored eleven runs and take the game 13-3.  In Game two, Heartland held a narrow 5-4 lead before tallying twelve runs in the sixth inning to take the nightcap 17-4.  

The first game saw Nick Hainline hold the Hawks to a 1-2-3 first, before Josh Heyder launched a three-run homer to score their aforementioned three runs. Hainline also held Heartland to a scoreless second and third innings before a two-run fourth put the Hawks within a run. Hainline got one last 1-2-3 inning in the fifth before the Hawk bats unfurled in the sixth. 

In the game one loss, Heyder (2 hits, 3 RBI), Luke Doty (1 hit), and Jackson Powell (1 hit) were responsible for the hits. Hainline struck out four in his 5.1 innings of work. 

The finale saw a similar outcome, but the trajectory was a bit different. Heartland lept out to an early 4-0 lead, but Gage Burdick and the Cougar defense held things down after that, with the Hawks held off the scoreboard in the second, third, and fourth innings. In that same stretch was a big four-run inning for ICC, highlighted by a home runs from both Matt Evans and Doty. Those power bats, adding Heartland's one-run fifth, made that 5-4 score into the 12-run sixth inning. 

While the home runs certainly help, the bats were certainly well-rounded, with Doty (2 hits, 2 RBI), Evans (1 hit, 2 RBI), Heyder (1 hit), and Hunter Thornton (1 hit) all finding their ways into the hit column. 

It's a short turnaround now, as the Cougars and Hawks continue their series with games three and four. The final twinbill takes place tomorrow at 9AM and 11:30AM from Normal's Corn Crib. Fans can follow live stats by heading to the LINK.