Polk State split a pair of games against first-place Florida Southwestern tonight in Winter Haven.
The Eagles won the opener 4-2.
The Buccaneers (No. 2 FCSAA, No. 3 NJCAA) entered the game 44-3 and 10-0 in Suncoast Conference play.
They jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a single, a sacrifice, and another single.
The Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the third.
Riley Dunn led off with a walk and moved to second on Breanna Snell's bunt single. Kelsey Armstrong then reached first on a bunt, loading the bases. Jada Wesley followed with a single, scoring Dunn and Snell.
Florida Southwestern answered with a run in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk, tying the score at 2.
In the bottom of the inning, Heather Novis led off with a single to left. The Bucs then made a throwing error on Ally Baert's bunt, allowing her to reach first and sending Novis to third.
Andrea Farley's single loaded the bases, and Novis and Farley scored the go-ahead runs on a wild pitch, giving the Eagles the 4-2 lead.
Taite Powell earned the win with a complete-game performance.
In game two, the Eagles rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie the score at 4 before losing 7-4.
The Buccaneers scored a pair of runs in the first, but the Eagles got a run back in the second. Novis was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch, took third on Farley's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Dunn's sacrifice bunt.
Florida Southwestern plated a pair of runs the following inning to take a 4-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Mary-Margaret Maggard led off with a double to right, took third on an error, and scored on another error, making the score 4-2.
Mikayla Barwig tied it at 4 in the fifth when she blasted a two-run homer to left field.
Mikayla Barwig returns to the dugout after hitting a game-tying home run. (Photo by Tom Hagerty, Polk State.)
In the sixth, however, the Bucs rallied for three runs to go up 7-4 and went on to win.
Starting pitcher Maddie Scott worked into the sixth inning, when LeAnna Otte came on in relief.
The Eagles (13-27, 2-10) return to action Thursday against St. Petersburg College at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Winter Haven.
