Box Score WINTER HAVEN – Polk State Baseball's Suncoast Conference championship hopes are on life support. State College of Florida-Manatee pushed across seven runs over the final two innings to rally past the Eagles on Friday night, 8-2.

As was the case in his last start, pitcher Evan Koehler was stellar for Polk State on the mound. Koehler allowed just a run on five hits and a walk in seven shutout innings. He finished with seven strikeouts.

The Polk State (31-19, 13-8 Suncoast Conference) bullpen, however, was a different story. Closer Ryan Combs allowed seven runs on four hits and two walks in one inning of work to take the loss. It was the fourth straight decision that the state's leader in saves factored in. He's 2-2 in those contests.

Trailing 2-1 after seven, State College of Florida-Manatee pushed across three runs in the eighth. Mario Lopez Jr.'s two-run home run broke a 2-2 tie and put the Manatees ahead for good. SCF added four more runs in the ninth to put the contest away.  

The Eagles drew first blood with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Damion Kenealy's RBI double got the scoring started. Roberto Odor added an RBI of his own later in the frame. SCF broke up the shutout an inning later with its lone run off Koehler.

State College of Florida finished with nine hits on Friday night to five for the Eagles. Catcher Travis Stapleton led Polk State with two hits, including a double.

With the loss, Polk State falls three games behind SCF in the Suncoast Conference standings. The Eagles will need to win their final three games of the regular season to force a winner-take-all conference championship. The teams will meet again in Bradenton on Saturday at 1 p.m.