Box Score WINTER HAVEN — With nine sophomores in the starting lineup, Polk State Baseball celebrated Sophomore Night with an easy 9-2 victory over Seminole State College of Florida on Thursday.
 
In what will likely be his final regular season home start, pitcher Evan Koehler shined. The sophomore right-hander finished with a season-high 11 strikeouts in seven strong innings. Koehler allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits with no walks.
 
"I got my changeup down tonight," Koehler said. "Our offense was effective. All of our families were here tonight, and I wanted to pitch well."
 
The Raiders were able to get to Koehler early with an unearned run in the first on Jacob Green's sacrifice fly.
 
The Eagles (32-19) drew even with a run in the second as Greg Pettay singled home Pierce Glading. With bases loaded and nobody out, Polk State appeared on the verge of a big inning but could get nothing else.
 
Polk State opened things up with a two-out rally in the third, resulting in five runs. Aris Rivera's two-run double in the left-centerfield gap put the Eagles ahead to stay. Pettay reached on an error to score Rivera before an RBI double from Jordan Thomas and an RBI single by Kelsen Johnson pushed the lead to 6-1.
 
After four scoreless innings from Koehler, the Raiders scored their final run of the night on a solo home run from Johnnie Lopez in the top of the sixth. The Eagles responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning with an RBI groundout from Evan Wainman and another two-run double from Rivera. The Polk State catcher finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored.
 
"It was cool to get the job done on Sophomore Night," Rivera said. "All the families were here. This feels great."
 
If there was one sore spot for Polk State, it was four errors in the field. A pair in the seventh allowed Seminole State to load the bases with one out, but Koehler struck out Danny Ramirez for his 11th punchout of the game before inducing a flyout to end the inning.
 
"Koehler stepped up and pitched phenomenal tonight," Head Coach Al Corbeil said. "He came up big for us in a big conference game. It was fantastic."
 
Following Koehler's splendid night, the Polk State bullpen retired all six batters it faced. After Ryan Combs worked a seven-pitch eighth, Jake Echols struck out the side in the ninth to end the contest.
 
Aaron Stelogeannis had a Sophomore Night to remember, going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base. Glading and Thomas, the only freshman in the lineup, each added two hits. Thomas finished with a pair of steals.
 
Dillon Costello and Osmin Melendez each finished with two of the six hits for Seminole State. Starter Ethan Slack took the loss for the Raiders, allowing nine runs, six earned, on 12 hits in six innings.
 
With the victory, Polk State has now won 20 of its last 25 games and guaranteed itself a winning record in Citrus Conference play. The Eagles could clinch a fourth straight FCSAA Tournament berth as early as Saturday.
 
"We all know we're in a pretty good spot," Rivera added. "We're just trying to take it one pitch at a time and continue to get better."
 
Polk State and Seminole State will wrap up the three-game series with a doubleheader in Sanford on Saturday. Game times are scheduled for 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.