Florida Gators

VIDEO
Shore Postgame After Setting School Record with 13th Straight Win
Highlights as the Gators Square the Series
 
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Junior Logan Shore fired a two-hit shutout in No. 2 Florida's 6-0 win over Georgia on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. The right-hander set a school record with his 13th straight victory dating back to last season, surpassing the mark held by Russ Kibler since 1984. Shore (8-0) faced the minimum as the Gators (35-6/12-5 SEC) squared the series with the Bulldogs (21-19/7-10 SEC), registering his fourth career complete game and his second career shutout (5-0 at No. 6 Miami (FL) on Feb. 26).
 
Shore did not allow any runners past first base and retired the side in order in six different innings. He also benefitted from inning-ending double plays in both the fifth and eighth innings and went the distance for the second time this season.
 
Florida jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning against junior Connor Jones (5-3), highlighted by a two-run single by freshman Jonathan India and a steal of home by junior Buddy Reed. Sophomore Dalton Guthrie led off by reaching on an error and freshman Deacon Liput drew a walk before the duo executed a double steal with one down. Junior Peter Alonso walked to load the bases and Reed blooped an RBI single into right field to open the scoring. India followed with a base-hit up the middle to bring in Liput and Shore. UF attempted another double steal, with Reed taking third base but India was thrown out at second base. With freshman Nelson Maldonado at the plate, Reed came sprinting in from third and dove headfirst across the plate with the fourth run.
 
Florida added another unearned run in the second to build a 5-0 margin. Sophomore Mike Rivera drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed over by junior Ryan Larson. After Rivera took third on a wild pitch by Jones, he scored on a throwing error by junior catcher Skyler Weber after Liput struck out.
 
Guthrie boosted the Gators' lead to 6-0 in the sixth with sacrifice fly into right field. Maldonado and Rivera opened the frame with consecutive singles and moved into scoring position on a grounder by Larson. Guthrie's team-leading fifth sacrifice fly resulted in a six-run advantage.
 
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Opening Statement:
"That's about as good as (Logan Shore) has pitched his whole career here. He faced the minimum; that's really hard to do. We played good defense behind him and turned a couple of double plays. I thought (Ryan) Larson played a nice game. We did just enough offensively. We're kind of in a situation where we have to keep plugging along offensively. (Connor Jones) may not have been the easiest guy to face; he has a big break on his breaking ball. We're encouraging our guys to swing the bat since they weren't very aggressive last night. This was probably not the right guy to face when you tell you guys to do that, but I would rather be overly aggressive than under-aggressive."
 
On scoring four runs in the first inning:
"We had really good swings, and we were ready to hit. I think the timing was right when Buddy Reed stole home. It got the dugout excited; it got the fans excited. It's probably what the doctor ordered, to be honest with you. We needed to come out and control the game. We did that offensively."
 
Junior right-hander Logan Shore
Thoughts on breaking UF record:
"Honestly, I didn't even know about the record until last week. For me, it's just about going out there every weekend and trying to give us the best chance to win. I just so happened to swing together a pretty good run there after a tough loss last night. A.J. (Puk) pitched really well and it was a close game. Our bullpen was taxed and I kind of took it onto my shoulders to try to save that and put us in the best place for us to win tomorrow."
 
On facing the minimum of Georgia hitters tonight:
"I didn't even know that until Alex Faedo told me after the game when we were shaking hands. But, that's something I've never done and obviously that makes it a little more special to me. I couldn't do it without the guys behind me and there were four or five unbelievable plays tonight that saved me for facing the minimum and getting me through the ninth there. We put up six runs and that obviously makes it a lot easier. It was awesome."
 
Junior outfielder Buddy Reed
On stealing home:
"I took home and I got the fans and the dugout excited. It was a set play, I got the sign and I timed it right. Nelly (Nelson Maldonado) did a great job of moving back in the box, making his box adjustment, and then right when the pitcher took that step, I saw the right time and my hand hit before the catcher even got down to tag me."
 
On Logan Shore's performance:
"He was great. He has command and he's probably one of the top five, maybe even top-three pitchers in the country. He always works hard at his craft, he does something that a lot of pitchers don't do, but he pitches to contact. When he wants to go for a strikeout, he will and he uses his defense really well. It's one versus nine and he does a great job of letting us field and get the ground balls and make great catches."
 
Postgame Notes

• Kevin O'Sullivan improved to 20-8 in his career against Georgia.
• Logan Shore earned his 13th straight victory dating back to last season, breaking the record held by Russ Kibler.
• The righty faced the minimum number of batters, with six strikeouts, two hits and a walk.
• It was Shore's fourth career complete game and second shutout.
• The Gators plated four runs in the first inning, scoring in the opening frame for the second game in a row.
• Peter Alonso's seven-game hitting streak, tied for the longest of his career, ended tonight.
• Buddy Reed stole home in the first inning, last done by Richie Martin against Florida State March 17, 2015.
• JJ Schwarz picked up his 14th multi-hit game of the season.
• Dalton Guthrie notched his team-leading fifth sacrifice fly this season in the sixth inning.
• Five Gators stole bases Friday night: Reed (19), Guthrie (7), Deacon Liput (10), JJ Schwarz (2) and Christian Hicks (1).
• Hicks' stolen base in the seventh inning was the first of his career.
• Eight of the 10 Florida hitters reached base Friday night
• Jonathan India's two RBI pushed him to seven multi-RBI games on the year

 
Up Next
The Gators and Bulldogs complete the series tomorrow at 2 p.m. Jeff Cardozo and Mick Hubert have the call on the Gator IMG Sports Network and the game will be shown on ESPN2 with Tom Hart and Kyle Peterson and streamed through the Watch ESPN app.
 
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