BRADENTON – Polk State Baseball trailed for most of the day in its doubleheader at No. 22 State College of Florida on Friday. The Eagles, however, used a late rally in the second game to salvage a split and take the series.

Down four runs after six, Polk State went ahead for good with five runs in the seventh in an 11-8 victory in the nightcap.

Trailing 7-3 when the inning started, Kustarr Webb cut the lead to one with a three-run home run. Singles by Jack Muller and Leo Suarez then bookended a walk to Kevin Brunet. Two batters later, Bradyn Potter came through with a clutch two-run single to put Polk State ahead for good, 8-7.

The Eagles continued to tack on. Polk State opened the eighth with a Zach Lester single and a Webb double. Both would score on wild pitches to extend the lead to 10-7.

After the Manatees got a run back in the bottom of the inning, Polk State's Hayden Testerman capped the scoring in the ninth with an RBI double to score Marvin Montenegro. Aiden Dolan allowed just a run over the final three innings to close out the win on the mound.

Polk State's first two runs came on homers. Montenegro went deep for his team-leading fifth home run of the year to cut the SCF lead to 2-1 in the third. Brunet added a solo shot of his own in the fourth that again cut the lead to one at 3-2.

SCF also utilized the long ball early. Holden Brauner's two-run home run in the second got the scoring started. Ben Ryan added a solo shot in the third to extend the lead to 3-1. The Manatees scored in five straight innings to take a 7-3 lead after six.

Polk State finished with 15 hits in the victory. Potter, Montenegro, Webb, Lester, Brunet and Suarez each had two hits. Brunet scored three runs. Montenegro, Webb and Lester each scored twice. Ryan scored twice for SCF.
 
The first game was one to forget for Polk State as the Eagles fell in five innings, 12-2.
 
After pushing across a run in the first, the Manatees scored 10 runs in the third inning – all with two outs – to turn the contest into a laugher. Ryan started the onslaught with a three-run home run.
 
The Eagles got on the board in the fourth. Muller went the other way into the gap for a two-run double, scoring Testerman and Webb.
 
SCF got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Josh Castellani was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Polk State went in order in the fifth inning.
 
Potter finished with two of the three hits for the Eagles. Ryan finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs for SCF.

Back over .500 in conference play, Polk State (18-13, 8-7 Citrus Conference) will return home for a non-conference affair with University of Tampa (B). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.