Box Score 1 MADEIRA BEACH — Polk State Softball will be on a two-game winning streak when it plays its home opener on Tuesday. The Eagles completed the doubleheader sweep of Richard Bland College on Sunday at the JUCO Showcase at ROC Park.

Polk State needed just five innings to dispose of the Statesman in the first game. The Eagles scored in every inning in a 16-2 victory.

After pushing across a run in the first, Polk Stare blew things open with a six-run second inning. At one point in the inning, Polk State had five straight hits.

Thea Williams had a monster game at the plate with four RBIs, including three on a bases-clearing double in the third. Kirsten Aldridge hit her first career home run — a solo blast — an inning later to push the lead to 11-1.

After Richard Bland scored its second run in the fourth, the Eagles scored five runs in the fifth. Hayle Peterson went the distance in the circle, allowing just one earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out six.

Williams, Calonnie Holmes, Leia Hurst, Lacey Osborne and Rylee Hartnell each had two hits. Holmes and Makenzie Foster each scored three runs.

The second game didn't come as easy, but Polk State was able to hold on for a 3-2 victory. After Richard Bland pushed across a run in the first, the Eagles went ahead for good with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Foster's infield single scored Holmes to tie the game before the sophomore scored the go-ahead run on an RBI double from Osborne.

The 2-1 lead for Polk State (3-5) remained until the bottom of the fourth when Holmes went the other way for her second home run of the season. The Statesmen answered with an unearned run in the fifth to cut the deficit to one as Shekinah Soto scored on a wild pitch.

As was the case in the first game, Polk State got excellent starting pitching -- this time from Avery Wende. The sophomore from Kansas went 5.1 innings, yielding just no earned runs to pick up the win. Layla Honojosa retired all five batters she faced to collect the save.

Holmes had two of the six hits for Polk State and scored two of the three runs. The Statesmen were held to just three hits. 

After tripling its win total on Sunday, Polk State will play its home opener with a chance to even its record. The Eagles will host Lake-Sumter State College in a doubleheader on Tuesday. Start times are slated for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.