PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College softball team swept visiting Oakton Community College in a doubleheader Tuesday. The Hawks won game one, 12-11, in walkoff fashion and carried the momentum over to game two en route to a 16-2 triumph in five innings over the Owls.

Trailing 11-8 in the bottom of the seventh, Harper (3-23) scored four runs to win it. Emily Butler (Prospect Heights, Ill./Hersey)'s groundout to second base plated Sandra Portogallo (Elk Grove Village, Ill. /Conant) for the winning run.

The hosts fell into an early 6-0 hole after two innings as Oakton (3-29) had seven hits and also scored three unearned runs. The Hawks scored four runs in the third and two more in the fourth to tie the game at 6-6. The Owls responded with four runs in the top of fifth inning to regain the lead. In the bottom half of the inning, Danielle Reptowski (Hanover Park, Ill./Schaumburg)'s inside-the-park home run cut it to 10-7 before Oakton scored one in the sixth.

Isabelle McGuinnis (Arlington Heights, Ill. /Hersey) (2-20) got the win in the circle. The freshman allowed six earned runs on 15 hits and struck out two in seven innings.

In game two, the Hawks scored all 16 of their runs in the first three innings, including a 10-run third, and rolled to a 16-2 victory. The Owls scored twice in the first, but Harper quickly answered with a three-run bottom half of the inning.

The Hawks sent 14 batters to the plate in the second inning and scored 10 runs on six hits. Reptowski had her second inside-the-park home run of the day. In the third inning, Harper scored three more times on hits from Kelsey Hughes (Hanover Park, Ill. /Schaumburg), Courtney Russ (Lake Zurich, Ill. /Lake Zurich), and Portogallo to extend the advantage to 16-2. After the first inning, McGuinnis (3-20) found a rhythm and did not surrender a run for the final four innings. She pitched five innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits and struck out four.

Harper will wait to hear who they will match up with in the NJCAA Region IV DIII Softball Tournament that will begin on Friday, May 6. Stay tuned to the schedule for updates.