WINTER HAVEN - Polk State Baseball withstood a late rally from St. Petersburg College on Friday afternoon, as the Eagles took the Suncoast Conference series opener, 8-7.
 
Sophomore infielder Damion Kenealy dazzled for the Eagles, going 2-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and five runs batted in.
 
The Eagles (20-11, 5-0 Suncoast) won their eighth straight game and improved to 14-3 on the season at Bing Tyus Yard. The Titans (7-18, 1-4 Suncoast) have now lost four of their last five.
 
Freshman righty Evan Koehler was dominant in his start on the mound for the Eagles, tossing seven shutout innings where he allowed four hits, walked two and tied his season-high in strikeouts with nine. Koehler had a streak of nine straight batters retired from the top of the fourth to the top of the seventh. The Orange City native improved to 4-0 on the season with the win.
 
"Evan was electric today on the bump for us," said Polk State Head Coach Al Corbeil. "He did an excellent job of working ahead of guys and showed why he has earned the position he holds in our rotation."
 
At the plate, the Eagles struck first in the bottom of the fourth via Kenealy's first long ball of the day — a two-run shot that banged off the scoreboard in left field — to put Polk ahead 2-0.
 
Evan Wainman belted a homer of his own in the bottom of the fifth, propelling a solo shot over the fence in left center. The Eagles tacked on two more runs in the frame with an RBI triple to left field by Ray Mercer and a RBI single up the middle off the bat of Aaron Stelogeannis to grow the lead to 5-0.
 
The Titans mounted their comeback attempt in the top of the eighth, scoring four runs on four hits and an error to trim the deficit to 5-4.
 
However, Kenealy provided more power at the plate for Polk in the bottom of the frame, launching a towering shot to left field that left the premises with two men aboard. The three-run jack grew the Eagles' lead to 8-4. Kenealy pushed his home run total to four and RBI total to 23 with his performance on Friday afternoon.
 
The second homer by Kenealy was needed as the Titans continued to string together hits in the top of the ninth. A two-run single by Kelsen Johnson cut the Polk lead down to 8-6 before Diego Aponte made it a one-run game with one out thanks to an RBI single up the middle.
 
"Kenealy is one of our first-year guys who has put in a lot of work and it is showing in his approach at the plate," added Corbeil. "We needed to do a better job of closing this one out with our bullpen today, but thankfully our offense picked us up."
 
Freshman closer Ryan Combs ultimately stood tall, getting a pair of ground outs to put the Titans away. Combs earned his seventh save of the season, which leads all Region 8 Division I arms.
 
The Eagles look to take a 2-0 lead over the Titans in the series on Saturday. The teams will square off at 1 p.m. in St. Petersburg.