PALATINE, Ill. – Nick Spagnola (Algonquin, Ill., Dundee-Crown) hit two home runs and Scott Plaza (Arlington Heights, Ill., Prospect) threw his sixth straight complete game to help lead the Harper College baseball team to a N4C split against visiting College of DuPage.  The Hawks took game one 4-2 behind Plaza's gem but the Chaparrals recovered to take the second game 9-8 despite four RBI from Spagnola.
 
Plaza struck out ten DuPage hitters in his seven innings of work while scattering six hits.  The right-hander went the distance for the sixth time in seven starts this season.  The only start in which Plaza failed to throw every inning was the season opener at Heartland Community College.  The only runs that the Chaparrals could manage off of Plaza came in the top of the seventh inning with the Hawks already leading 4-0
 
After Plaza shut down DuPage in the first, Spagnola got the Harper offense started right away.  The third baseman drilled his third home run of the season to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage.  Harper added in the third thanks to John Caravia (Norridge, Ill., Ridgewood), who doubled and eventually scored on a Connor McHugh (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Schaumburg) sacrifice fly.
 
The Hawks added what would turn out to be two key insurance runs in the sixth inning.  Kevin Robinson (Schaumburg, Ill., Conant) singled to lead off the inning and eventually scored on a Dan Duran (Skokie, Ill., Niles West) single.  Brett Sklena (Skokie, Ill., Niles North) put the team up 4-0 with an RBI single.
 
Spagnola and Duran each went 2-for-3 to pace the Harper offense.
 
In the nightcap, DuPage bested Harper in extra innings with a single tally in the eighth. The Chaparrals took a 1-0 lead in the first but the Hawks answered in their half of the inning.  Spagnola tripled to lead off the inning and was brought home on a wild pitch.
 
Harper appeared to take control of the game with a six-run second inning.  Duran led off with a double and scored on Sklena's single.  Sklena alertly took second on the play and was rewarded when Mark Sarti (Palatine, Ill., Palatine) drove him home with a single.  After Ryan Guthrie (Chillicothe, Mo., Chillicothe) was hit by a pitch and Anthony Colosimo (Lake Forest, Ill., Loyola Academy) walked to load the bases, Spagnola cleared them with a grand slam and his fourth round-tripper of the season.
 
DuPage knotted the game at 7-7, and Duran put Harper right back into position to take the lead with a leadoff triple.  A groundout failed to bring the run home but Sarti picked up his second RBI of the game with a single.
 
The Chaparrals tied the game in the sixth inning before eventually winning in the eighth.  Tyler Tureck (Barrington, Ill., Barrington) took the loss on the hill, yielding two earned runs in 4.1 innings.