GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Top-ranked Florida State looked like it was deserving of its No. 1 ranking in college baseball's longest-running poll through 4 1/2 innings Tuesday night against rival Florida.
But the Seminoles aren't likely to remain No. 1 much longer.
Florida State (13-2, 2-1 ACC) squandered a 6-0 lead in its first road game of the season, falling apart in the fifth and sixth innings as the No. 16 Gators (14-5) beat the Seminoles 20-7 in Gainesville.
It was FSU's worst loss against the Gators since losing 21-6 in 1980.
FSU head coach Mike Martin, who is retiring at the end of the season, was in his first year at the helm of the program then. Barring another postseason road trip to Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, Tuesday's game was his last visit to Gainesville.
It probably won't be on his highlight reel.
The Seminoles, who had committed just five errors in their first 14 games, had three in the fifth and sixth. The Gators capitalized, plating 13 runs over those two innings. They scored seven more in the eighth.
Justin Alintoff was credited with the win for the Gators despite pitching 0.2 innings of relief.
The Seminoles cycled through three pitchers in the fifth, with Chase Haney picking up the loss. He walked the first two batters of the sixth, finishing the night with just one strikeout and allowing four runs on three hits.
In all, the FSU bullpen allowed 20 runs -- 18 earned -- on 14 hits over five innings.
When it was over, the Seminoles lost their ninth straight against the Gators and 14th in the last 15 games. The Martin-led Seminoles haven't won a regular-season game in Gainesville since 2013.