A slew of missed opportunities early came back to haunt Ole Miss on Sunday.

The Rebels stranded four base runners in scoring position in the first five innings, fell behind because of it, and fell to Florida 7-2 in the series finale.

Karsten Whitson threw six shutout innings for Florida, while Mike Zunino went 4-for-4 with three doubles and four RBIs. Preston Tucker also had two hits and two RBIs for the Gators (34-10, 17-4 Southeastern Conference), who jumped out to a 7-0 lead after five innings.

“You have to tip your hat to Florida,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “They played terrific and got the big hits to extend the lead. We stayed out of giving up the big inning, but we just couldn’t stop them. Florida pitches well and their command is good, they got the big hits and made all the plays defensively. They just kind of smother you out there.”

It was Florida’s first sweep of Ole Miss (24-20, 9-12) since 2002, and its fourth SEC sweep this season. Ole Miss remained a game behind Arkansas and Alabama in the SEC West, and tied with Auburn for second place.

“They aren’t easy to come by, especially against a team like Ole Miss,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said of the sweep.

Florida scored twice in the first, twice more in the third on Zunino’s two-run double, then blew it open in the fifth inning.

After Nolan Fontana doubled with one out to put runners at second and third, Zunino’s double down the left field line brought both of them in. Zunino then scored on Tucker’s base hit to center to make it 7-0.

Ole Miss finally got on the board in the seventh inning on Will Allen’s RBI single, and Matt Smith homered in the eighth to cut it to 7-2, but the Rebels never really threatened to get back in the game.