Box Score WINTER HAVEN - Polk State Baseball overcame four errors on Saturday afternoon to defeat Hillsborough Community College 5-3 and take a 2-0 lead in the Suncoast Conference series.
 
Once the Eagles (17-11, 2-0 Suncoast) scored three runs to go ahead in the bottom of the fourth, they would never relinquish the lead to the Hawks (6-20, 0-2 Suncoast).
 
Polk State starting pitcher Caiden Peeples battled through some early adversity on the mound. The Fort Myers native loaded the bases in both the top of the first and second with no outs and did not concede a run in either instance. All in all, the Hawks were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position against Peeples with five strikeouts. Peeples totaled seven strikeouts, just a single walk, and was charged with two unearned runs over 4.1 innings pitched in the no-decision.
 
The Eagles scored their three runs in the bottom of the fourth on three hits to take a 3-0 lead. Travis Stapleton came around and scored the initial run off an RBI single by Evan Wainman. Stapleton finished the day 3-for-4 at the plate and scored three of the five Polk runs.
 
The Hawks got two back in the top of the fifth via an error and an RBI single by Jonathan Bruno. Pierce Glading retaliated for the Eagles at the plate with a rip single up the middle to bring Stapleton home and extend the Eagles' lead to 4-2.
 
Freshman righty Sam Duvall relieved Peeples in the top of the fifth and tossed 2.1 frames of shutout baseball, conceding three hits while forcing HCC hitters to fly out three times and ground out on four occasions. Duvall went on to earn the win and improve to 4-0 on the season.
 
"We made a lot of mistakes today that we have to eradicate moving forward," said Polk State Head Coach Al Corbeil. "I thought our pitching did a great job of keeping us competitive today. Peeples battled through some tough spots and our two freshman out of the pen were impressive."
 
Wainman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh that made it 5-2 Polk. The Hawks brought it back to a two-run game via another Polk miscue in the top of the eighth.
 
The Eagles received another key performance out of the bullpen from another freshman in Ryan Combs, who closed out the final 2.1 innings for Polk. Two of the three strikeouts by Combs came with either the tying run on base or at the plate, as he earned his team-best fifth save of the season.
 
Polk looks to clinch the series win against HCC on Monday, as the Eagles head to Tampa for a 2:30 p.m. first pitch.