Eight outs away from back-to-back trips to the College World Series, the top-ranked Gators imploded.
Twice.
After leading 2-0 in the seventh inning, Florida (49-17) squandered a late lead before then plating the go-ahead run in the eighth on a triple from the resurgent Tyler Thompson.
But the No. 2 national seed finds itself in a dogfight after Mississippi State (38-24) drilled a walk-off homer in the ninth to take Game 2 of the best-of-three NCAA Super Regional 4-3 on Saturday.
"We just didn't do what we needed to do in the last three innings," UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.
After the pesky Bulldogs scrapped their way back into the ballgame, second baseman Nick Vickerson ended it, smoking a two-run bomb into the left field bleachers off Gators southpaw Steven Rodriguez.
"Our kids would not give in. Our kids would not give up," MSU coach John Cohen said. "We hung in there and kept fighting and found a way."
Florida looked poised to punch consecutive tickets back to Omaha, Neb., for the first time in school history after routing the Bulldogs on Friday and regaining the series' momentum with a clutch RBI extra-base hit from Thompson in the eighth.
But the game's emotional rollercoaster took an unexpected turn after Vickerson ambushed a get-me-over fastball, shell-shocking Florida's entire team.
"My heart sunk a little bit," said UF second baseman Josh Adams, who hit a solo shot in the fourth to give the Gators a two-run cushion.
After a leadoff single to start the ninth, O'Sullivan elected to relieve junior Nick Maronde. The moved backfired as Cohen said he pondered bunting versus Maronde before Vickerson stepped up and said he wanted to swing away against Rodriguez.
"He had a look in his eye," Cohen said. "I'm a big believer in letting a player make that decision."
"I was just glad to get a chance to swing it," said Vickerson. "I'm 0-2 with two strikeouts before today against Rodriguez, so I was just really focused. I was trying to be aggressive early in the count."
O'Sullivan said he went to Rodriguez because of his "swing-and-miss stuff," but that "you can flip a coin between him and Maronde."
MSU's late rally spoiled a masterful start from UF freshman Karsten Whitson. The flame-throwing right-hander cruised for six innings before Bulldogs hitters began finding infield holes.
"His slider was the best I've seen it all year long," O'Sullivan said. "He pitched his heart out."
"Whitson was just dominant," Cohen added later.
The Freshman All-American struck out six using his devastating breaking ball and overpowering fastball. A misplayed bunt single was MSU's only hit in the first 6.1 innings and Whitson retired 13 straight before the Bulldogs tagged him for three hits and two runs in the seventh.
"I felt good but balls were starting to find holes," Whitson said.
After UF battered MSU starter Nick Routt early for seven hits and two runs, Bulldogs' closer Caleb Reed tossed the final 5.1 frames, frustrating Florida hitters except for a pair of hiccups in the eighth inning.
SEC Player of the Year Mike Zunino nearly knocked a go-ahead home run off the centerfield wall for a leadoff double. Two outs and two strikes later, Thompson unloaded a rope to left center past the outstretched arms of a diving C.T. Bradford. The Bulldogs' centerfielder was positioned way too shallow and couldn't corral the routine deep fly ball.
MSU battled until the end and now sit one game away from its first CWS appearance since 2007.
"It's never easy this time of year," O'Sullivan said following the brutal loss. "We'll get our guys back in the right frame of mind. ... We will not let this leak into tomorrow. Our players did not play bad, Mississippi State played a little better today, simple as that."
