PALATINE, Ill. – Trailing by nine runs going into the ninth inning, the Harper College baseball team cut the deficit to four but their comeback fell short against Oakton Community College, dropping a 15-11 decision.
 
On a day they made eight errors, Harper (4-5) still had a chance as the first six guys reached in the ninth inning.  Nick Spagnola (Algonquin, Ill., Dundee-Crown) brought home two runs with a double and Dan Duran (Skokie, Ill., Niles West) followed with a rocket back through the middle to score Spagnola.  Connor McHugh (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Schaumburg) continued his torrid stretch at the plate, lining a double into the right-center gap to plate two more runs.  But the Raiders retired the final three batters to end the game.
 
Oakton's Ryan Tuntland hit home runs in his first two at-bats as Oakton built an early 5-4 lead after three innings.  Kevin Robinson (Schaumburg, Ill., Conant) helped keep the Hawks close, smacking his own two-run homer in the second inning.  Mark Sarti (Palatine, Ill., Palatine) sparked a third inning rally with a double to deep center, eventually coming around on a Raider error.  Duran drove in John Caravia (Norridge, Ill., Ridgewood) with a line drive to center.
 
McHugh went 3-for-4, reaching base safely four times while Duran also had three hits.  Ryan Busse (Prospect Heights, Ill., Hersey) (1-2) suffered the loss, giving up six earned runs in 5.2 innings.
 
Harper is back on their home diamond tomorrow, finishing their seven-game homestand with an afternoon tilt against McHenry County College.  First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM.