Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 OCALA — Needing to sweep Saturday's doubleheader to take the three-game series, Polk State Baseball settled for a split at No. 17 College of Central Florida.

Polk State evened the series by taking the first game — a seven-inning — contest, 8-5. After College of Central Florida tied the game with four runs in the sixth, the Eagles went ahead with three runs in the seventh.

Polk State took the lead on an error before Jordan Thomas' two-run single provided insurance. Wade Johnson worked the final 1.1 innings to earn the win.

No-hit through four innings, Polk State tied the game at 1 on Zach Lester's solo homer in the fifth. Derek Fermaint squeezed home the go-ahead run later in the inning before Liam O'Neil's three-run home run in the sixth extended the lead to 5-1.

The Eagles got 5.2 good innings from Jake Echols, who allowed four earned runs on only three hits while striking out seven. Miles Curley had the biggest hit of the game for the Patriots with a game-tying three-run double in the sixth.

Polk State finished with seven hits to five for College of Central Florida. Thomas and Lester each had two for the Eagles. Curley drove in four of the five Patriots runs.

The second game did not go as well for Polk State. The Eagles were run-ruled in seven innings, 9-0.

The Patriots scored a run in the first and two in the third before blowing things open with a five-run fourth.

Dawson Hartman finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored, and an RBI. Gio Mendoza added three hits for Central Florida. Lester, Kenay Acevedo, and Mason Mojica had the three Polk State (19-13, 10-5 Citrus Conference) hits.

The split marked the first time this season that Polk State dropped a conference series. The Eagles will return home for a non-conference game with St. Petersburg College on Tuesday.