WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Polk State Baseball punctuated a dominant start to Suncoast Conference play with a thrilling 6-5 walk-off win over Hillsborough Community College on Wednesday afternoon to sweep the four-game series.

The Eagles (19-11, 4-0 Suncoast) lengthened their win streak to seven games, while the Hawks (6-22, 0-4 Suncoast) dropped their eighth consecutive contest.

After HCC got one across on an error in the top of the first, Polk answered via a blast over the right-center field wall off the bat of Nelson Taylor in the bottom of the frame to even the score at 1-1. The homer was Taylor's team-best fifth of the season.

The one unearned run in the top of the first was the lone run Polk starter Breton Cusic conceded in an impressive outing. Cusic forced HCC hitters to ground out 11 times and sat down the last 11 Hawks he faced down in order. Over a season-high seven innings, the Lakeland native walked just one and struck out two in what was ultimately a no-decision.

"This was a great outing from Cusic; he competed on the mound and gave us the chance to win," said Polk State Head Coach Al Corbeil. "He kept their hitters off balance all game."

Polk State took its first lead of the contest in the bottom of the fourth. Catcher Travis Stapleton brought Taylor across with a single to right-center to pull the Eagles ahead 2-1. Stapleton finished the series against HCC with a .500 batting average (8-for-16) with two doubles and three runs batted in. The Eagles grew their lead to 3-1 later in the frame via a sacrifice fly by Pierce Glading to center that scored Ray Bermudez.

A pair of RBI base hits by Aaron Stelogeannis and Taylor in the bottom of the seventh seemed to cement a Polk victory, growing the advantage to 5-1. However, the Hawks would respond with four runs on three hits in the top of the eighth to knot things up 5-5.

"We had some miscues in the eighth that allowed HCC to capitalize and get back in it," added Corbeil. "They didn't let up and played us tough. Fortunately, we were able to get the big hit in the ninth."

The Eagles received walk-off heroics in the bottom of the ninth from a combination of clutch hitting, smart base running, and a HCC miscue. With Ray Mercer taking off from first on the pitch, Stelogeannis smacked one into right-center that Mercer was able to accelerate to third off of. However, a overly powerful throw from right field landed in the HCC dugout and allowed the game-winning run in Mercer to score.

Polk treks on in Suncoast play with a four-game series against St. Petersburg College. Game one of the series will take place on Friday in Winter Haven at 1 p.m.