The Gators had a chance to clinch their third straight Southeastern Conference title, but the opportunity slipped away in their regular-season finale.
Florida (40-16, 18-12 SEC) fell to Auburn (30-26, 13-17 SEC) 5-4 on the road Saturday, sealing its fate as the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. The Gators will play the 10th-seeded Tigers in the first round Tuesday.
UF seemingly had the game in hand headed into the bottom of the seventh. Starter Karsten Whitson gave up just one earned run in five innings pitched, and Florida led Auburn 4-2 and was nine outs away from a series sweep.
The Gators sent setup man Steven Rodriguez, who recorded the final put in the sixth, to the hill for another inning of work. Rodriguez allowed three straight singles to start the frame, loading the bases.
Then, the Tigers' Creede Simpson hit into a fielder's choice at third base. Tanner Cimo was retired at second base, but Zach Alvord scored on the play, cutting the UF lead to 4-3. Rodriguez struck out Ryan Tella in the next the at-bat and gave way to Austin Maddox with runners on the corners.
Simpson stole second shortly after Maddox entered the game, putting two runners in scoring position for Auburn. Justin Bryant then made Florida's lead disappear.
Bryant's two-out scored two Tigers runners, and putting his squad ahead of the Gators for good, 5-4.
UF threatened to score, putting runners on the corners in the eighth and two in scoring postion in the ninth, but failed to bring anyone home.
