Box Score ST. PETERSBURG –Polk State Baseball will settle for a series split with St. Petersburg College after dropping a slugfest in the series finale at Jack Russell Park on Wednesday night, 16-13.

Trailing by five runs after eight innings, the Eagles (21-13, 6-2 Suncoast Conference) brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. After an RBI single from Cole Griffith scored a run and loaded the bases, Evan Wainman's sacrifice fly cut the lead to 16-13. St. Petersburg's Esaid Pena was able to get Aris Rivera to fly out to end the contest.

Polk State scored in seven of the nine innings on Wednesday, but it was a six-run third that put the Titans ahead for good. Every time the Eagles took or cut into the lead, St. Petersburg had an answer.

Down 10-5 after four innings, Polk State got RBI hits from Rivera and Damion Kenealy during a three-run fifth, but St. Petersburg answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to push the lead back to five. The teams traded runs in the sixth and then two each in the seventh.

The teams split the four-game set with each team going 2-0 at home. In the two games in St. Petersburg, the Titans combined for 29 runs. St. Petersburg finished with 19 hits on Wednesday.

For Polk State, Kenealy finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Nelson Taylor, Ray Bermudez, Travis Stapleton, and Griffith each finished with two hits in a losing effort. Taylor, Stapleton, and Rivera each finished with two RBIs. Roberto Odor scored three runs in the defeat.

As a team, Polk State finished with 14 hits but nothing went right in the field. The Eagles committed five errors, leading to eight unearned runs. Starter Breton Cusic took the loss, but only three of the 10 runs he allowed were earned.

Polk State will have a day off before traveling to face State College of Florida-Manatee for a four-game set to determine first place in the Suncoast Conference. Friday's contest is slated to begin at 5 p.m.