EFSC baseball team loses to Polk State, finishes season with 31 wins

As the final fans were leaving the stadium, the Eastern Florida State College baseball team was sharing hugs and taking pictures on Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland.

The Titans season ended Saturday night with an 8-4 loss to Polk State in an elimination game at the FCSAA State Baseball Tournament.

One inning did most of the damage as Polk State scored five runs in the second inning as all five runs scored with two outs.

Ryan Lang settled down and did not allow another run in six innings of work, retiring the final eight batters he faced.

The Titans got on the board in the bottom of the third inning as Ian Acevedo singled and scored on Jacob McFadden's RBI single. They would cut the lead to 5-3 in the fifth inning as Jeff Korte drove in both Sammy Duran and McFadden who had both singled. Korte finished with four hits in the game.

Polk State would score twice in the seventh and added another in the ninth inning.

The Titans, who finished the season 31-19, would score one more run in the ninth inning as Norberto Navarro led off with a double and scored on Korte's fourth hit – a single. 

It was the second straight season that the Titans have ended the season at the state tournament, which takes the top 10 teams in the state.