GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Junior
Logan Shore pitched a complete game, yielding six hits while striking out six as No. 1 Florida took down No. 7 Vanderbilt 4-2 on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. In claiming their 42nd regular-season win, the Gators (42-8 overall, 17-7 SEC) set a school record for regular-season victories, surpassing the 2011 squad that finished 41-15.
In addition, Shore (10-0) pitched his way into the Florida record books after earning his 28th career win. The Coon Rapids, Minn., native ties
Hudson Randall (2010-12) and
Rob Bonanno (1991-94) as the second-winningest pitchers in UF history.
Shore's nine-inning effort marked the fifth complete game of his career and third in 2016.
Despite nine solid innings from the right-hander, the Gators once again had to play catchup after a two-run fifth favored Vanderbilt, 2-1.
UF's initial score came in the second inning. Junior
Buddy Reed (2-for-3, 2 runs) laced a leadoff double up the middle to get it started and was followed by a
Deacon Liput walk on a 3-1 count. Sophomore
Mike Rivera laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the two over and newcomer
Nelson Maldonado came through with an RBI-groundout to bring in Reed for the 1-0 lead.
Both teams traded scoreless innings through the fourth before the Commodore bats came to life. Vanderbilt's Julion Infante and Will Toffey connected on back-to-back singles to lead off in the inning. With runners at the corners and one away, Jason Delay sent a single through the right side which allowed Infante to plate the equalizer. Connor Kaiser ended the scoring effort with a double to deep centerfield and allowed Toffey to come in for the go-ahead.
Trailing, 2-1, the Florida bats heated up in the seventh.
Peter Alonso took one on the left hand to reach safely and was replaced by pinch-runner
Eddy Demurias. Reed came through with a single up the middle on the ensuing at-bat to place runners at the corners.
Facing a 3-1 count and two aboard, Liput delivered the play of the night: a two-run double to the right field fence to push Demurias and Reed home for the 3-2 lead. Maldonado capped the scoring with a single to centerfield which brought home Liput for the 4-2 advantage.
Jordan Sheffield (7-4) took the hill for the Commodore's and was charged with the loss following seven innings of five-run, four-hit ball.
Post-Game Quotes:
Florida Head Coach K. O'Sullivan
"Logan [Shore] was unbelievable tonight. He pitched his heart out and gave us a complete-game effort. It was outstanding. We had some really good at-bats through the seventh.
"It was an exciting ballgame; there's no question about it. I thought we really played at a high level. The energy in the dugout was outstanding, and the energy in the stadium was outstanding. It was a really, really fun Friday night."
Junior right-hander Logan Shore
On tonight's team effort:
"It shows a lot about our team. We faced (Jordan Sheffield) who is going to be a first round pick in less than a month, and we found a way to scratch out four runs off him. It's pretty impressive all around, and I'm just glad to be on the mound with a team like this behind me on Friday night."
Freshman second baseman Deacon Liput
On driving in two runs in the seventh inning:
"In that kind of situation, especially facing a really good pitcher like we did, you have to look for that one pitch and not miss it. You have to be short to the ball and do anything you can to put the barrel on it. At that point a ground ball or a fly out works (to score the runner)."
Junior centerfielder Buddy Reed
On scoring in the seventh inning after getting caught in a rundown:
"My head was down the whole time. I saw the ball down the (right) line and was booking it as hard as I could. I got in the rundown, and I thought to myself, 'Don't get out.' I somewhat willed myself to get home. It hurt a little bit on my knee, the back-and-forth and side-to-side, but whatever I can do to help the team win."
Up Next: The Gators return to action tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET, for game two of the three-game series. UF's senior class will be honored prior to first pitch.
Jeff Cardozo and
Steve Russell have the call on the Gator IMG Sports Network and the game will be shown live on ESPN2.
Follow the Gators
FloridaGators.com
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
