WINTER HAVEN, - Polk State Baseball took advantage of early miscues and received excellent efforts out of the bullpen to earn a 5-3 win over Hillsborough Community College on Monday night and clinch another Suncoast Conference series.
 
The Eagles (28-16, 10-5 Suncoast) won their seventh straight game and are one victory away from equaling their season-best win streak, while the Hawks (8-34, 2-11 Suncoast) lost their fifth consecutive contest.
 
The Eagles drew first blood on an RBI groundout by Aaron Stelogeannis that scored Ray Mercer for an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
 
Polk expanded its lead in the bottom of the fourth with three runs on two hits, an error, and a wild pitch. A two-RBI single up the middle by Travis Stapleton highlighted the frame. Stapleton was the only Polk hitter with multiple base knocks, finishing the day 2-for-4 at the plate.
 
Stelogeannis notched his second RBI of the day when he lined one up the middle in the bottom of the fifth that brought Cole Griffith home and grew the Eagles' advantage to 5-0.
 
Polk southpaw starter Trevor Caldwell did a solid job of pitching through traffic on the basepaths, holding the Hawks to 2-for-7 at the plate with runners in scoring position. Ultimately, Caldwell did not factor into the decision, as he was relieved by Sam Duvall with two outs in the top of the fifth after walking five, striking out four, and eventually being charged with two earned runs allowed on five hits.
 
Duvall was dynamic out of the pen, conceding just one hit and one walk over 2.2 scoreless frames logged. The outing was the Cape Coral native's longest in Suncoast play this season. Duvall earned the winning decision to improve to 5-0, which tied him with Evan Koehler for the team lead in victories.
 
After the Hawks made it a 5-3 game in the top of the eighth with two outs, Josh Texidor made his third appearance on the mound since making his season debut last week. Texidor closed out the final 1.1 frames of the game by allowing no hits and just one walk. Texidor earned his first save of the season with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth.
 
"Our bullpen was excellent tonight," said Polk State Head Coach Al Corbeil. "Having a guy like Texidor back is going to be huge for us down the stretch as we look to reach our goals in conference. He gives us a lot of depth."
 
The Eagles go for the season sweep of the Hawks on Wednesday in Tampa. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.