PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College baseball team took early leads in both games of a double-header against Black Hawk College, but were unable to sustain either of them in losing 10-7 and 14-9 in two seven-inning contests.
 
Harper (3-4) put up five runs in the first innings of both games.  Seven straight batters reached base for the Hawks in the bottom of the first.  John Caravia (Norridge, Ill., Ridgewood) tripled to right-center and Nick Spagnola (Algonquin, Ill., Dundee-Crown) drove him in with a double to tie the game at 1-1.  A Dan Duran (Skokie, Ill., Niles West) single plated Spagnola and after two walks, Connor McHugh (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Schaumburg) delivered a two-run single.  Kevin Robinson (Schaumburg, Ill., Conant) capped the stellar opening frame with a run-scoring double into the left field corner.
 
Scott Plaza (Arlington Heights, Ill., Prospect) cruised from there, giving up two runs over the next five innings to help the Hawks maintain a 5-3 lead.  Harper added two runs in the bottom of the sixth as Robinson led off with a long home run to left, but the Hawks weren't done there.  Brett Sklena (Skokie, Ill., Niles North) restarted the rally with a single and later scored on a Braves' error.
 
The Hawks were unable to hold the lead, however, as four seventh inning errors led to seven unearned runs for the Braves.  Plaza (1-2) took the loss despite giving up only three earned runs in his second straight complete game.  The second-year pitcher struck out eight and walked just one in his seven innings of work.  Robinson and McHugh led the Hawk attack, each finishing with two hits and two runs batted in.
 
Game two was a similar script to the first contest.  Black Hawk (8-1) jumped on top with a first-inning run, but Harper immediately responded.  Mark Sarti (Palatine, Ill., Palatine) led off with a single and Caravia got him to third with another base hit.  A walk to Duran loaded the bases and Andrew Skinner (Lyons, Ill., St. Joseph) came through with a two-run single.  Anthony Colosimo (Lake Forest, Ill., Loyola Academy) drove in Duran with a groundout and McHugh finished the big inning with a two-run homer to left.
 
When the Braves tied it up at 5-5 in the third, the Hawks immediately reclaimed the lead.  Colosimo's two-run single brought Duran and Skinner home after both got hits.  The team's final offensive outburst of the day was in the fourth which temporarily knotted the score at 9-9.  Caravia singled and advanced to second on an error before Duran shot one back up the middle for a RBI.  Colosimo then picked up his fourth RBI of the day with a single.
 
But like game one, a big seventh inning helped Black Hawk pull away.  Already ahead 10-9, the Braves added four insurance tallies to put the game away.  Greg Fox (Woodridge, Ill., Downers Grove South) (1-1) suffered the loss, tossing six innings while giving up seven earned runs. 
 
Harper continues their stretch of ten games in nine days tomorrow with Morton College (0-2).  First pitch is slated for 3:00 PM.