GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After trailing by five runs through the first five innings, the Ole Miss baseball team rallied and brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning but lost to No. 5 Florida 6-4 in Game 3 of a three-game Southeastern Conference series at McKethan Stadium.
The win helped Florida (35-13, 16-8) move into a tie for first place with Mississippi State atop the SEC overall standings. It also enabled the Gators to sweep the Rebels (29-20, 11-13).
Tate Blackman scored two runs and had a double and his eighth home run. Former New Hope High School standout Will Golsan had this team-leading 17th multi-hit game of the season. Senior Colby Bortles followed with an RBI triple, and cleanup hitter Nick Fortes completed a strong week by going 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Three Rebel relievers pitched the final 3 1/3 innings without surrendering a run. Will Stokes went 1 1/3 innings frames, while freshmen Houston Roth and Will Ethridge pitched scoreless innings. Starter David Parkinson (5-3) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Florida had three players with multi-hit games.
Sophomore pitcher Jackson Kowar (8-0) allowed two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings before turning over the game to his bullpen. Michael Byrne (13) got the final five outs to collect his second save in as many days.
Ole Miss will play host to Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Game 1 of a three-game SEC weekend series. Game 2 will be at 6 p.m. Saturday. The series finale will be at noon Sunday.
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