Hawks Baseball team wins National Championship

The Heartland Community College Hawks baseball team have claimed their first NJCAA DII National Championship. 

With an 8-6 win over Southeastern Iowa Community College (Burlington) at David Allen Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma the Hawks won the NJCAA World Series tournament. 

The Hawks got on the scoreboard early with a Corey Boyette triple that drove in two runs in the bottom of the first. The Hawks built up an 8-1 lead going into the top of the 6th when Southeastern Iowa’s offense came to life, scoring four runs in the 6th and adding another unearned run in the 7th.   

The Hawks locked it down after that to come up with the 8-6 victory. 

Boyette (2 hits, 2 RBI), Bobby Atkinson (2 hits, 2 RBI, 1 HR) and Bloomington University High grad Daniel Mosele (2 hits, 1 RBI) led Heartland at the plate. Pitcher Meade Johnson got the win for the Hawks. Jacob Price was credited with the save. 

The Hawks advanced to final round play with a semifinal victory Friday, completing a 10-inning game that began on Thursday before being delayed for weather.  

Weather was a factor in the championship round as well, with delays pushing the game to Saturday morning after a multi-hour delay the previous night. 

“I could not be prouder of the work our players, Coach Razo, and his staff have done,” said Heartland Athletics Director Ryan Knox. “This is not only the first National Championship for Hawks baseball but our first-ever appearance in the World Series Final. The character of this team can really be seen by the clutch play we’ve had with two walk-off wins and the endurance to hold off Southeaster Iowa in the final. We come back to Normal as champions.” 

Heartland Baseball entered the championship tournament this year as the top seed, with an overall record of 53-5. The Hawks captured the Region-24 title and advanced undefeated in post-season play through the entire World Series tournament. 

Due to their spotless record, the Hawks needed just one victory in the double elimination tournament over Southeastern Iowa to eliminate the Blackhawks, who had lost one game against Lansing earlier in the tournament.