On Thursday night in the ESPNU showcase game, pitcher Logan Shore did what he does best for No. 4 Florida (34-16, 19-6 Southeastern Conference) in its 1-0 win over No. 18 Vanderbilt (36-14, 14-11 SEC).
The freshman was dominant with constant command and the look of a seasoned No. 1 starter in the SEC. It’s the fifth weekend in a row Shore topped the rotation and the eighth out of the last 10 weekend series Florida has played.
The righty struck out a Commodore in all but one of his seven full innings pitched and had a total of eight punch outs — a career high — before being taken out of the game in favor of Bobby Poyner after pitching 7.1 innings. Shore gave up two hits and faced only three over the minimum amount of batters. It was the 12th start of Shore’s career, and he’s reached the sixth inning in all of them — an achievement he was pleasantly surprised by after the game given uncertainty about how his arm would hold up against a workload he had never shouldered in his pitching career. He regards his this start as his best to date.
“My arm’s been feeling really good today,” Shore said. “My stuff was pretty good. So to beat Vanderbilt on a Thursday night, that’s something special and I’m glad got the win.”
Shore handed the ball to Poyner and the two combined to retire the last 11 batters of the game in order. The reliever even struck out the first two batters he faced and three of the five he pitched to in total. The transition was as seamless on the field as it looked from the stands.
“It was really smooth,” catcher Taylor Gushue said. “So that’s always good, makes for an easy night. They both did a really good job tonight. Both of them executed their pitches and they both did great, so it was a really smooth transition.”
He went on to say Shore’s fastball was “just awesome,” although he felt his starting pitcher would have liked to work in his slider more than he did.
Gushue was responsible for the only Florida run plated when his RBI single scored shortstop Richie Martin in the first inning. It was one of only three Florida hits on the evening. The Gators stranded 12 of their own baserunners, only three of which reached by actually getting a hit. Vanderbilt starter Tyler Beede struck out six Gators in as many innings; the presumptive first round draft pick was no slouch from the mound.
“We chased out of the zone,” Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We got into some hitters counts but we chased. We got into some hitters counts and an expanded zone. We haven’t done that, we didn’t do that at Alabama and tonight we did that. It probably has a lot to do with [Beede’s] arm. Let’s face it, he’s throwing the ball up there 93, 96, and his breaking ball is much improved from last year.”
The win was Florida’s 12th straight SEC victory, eclipsing a record that has stood since 1968. It also means Florida has mathematically clinched the SEC east title.
When it was all over, Gushue was the last to leave the diamond. Greeting him was a long, warm embrace from a girl that leapt into his arms to savor the achievement as they left through the fence down the third base line of McKethan stadium arm-in-arm.
“I mean, to get 12 wins in a row in the SEC is amazing,” Gushue said just before he exited, stage left.
“Just playing in this conference, it’s hard to win a game, not to mention 12 in a row.”
Follow Richard Johnson on Twitter @ragjUF
Florida celebrates after an inning during it’s 4-0 win against Maryland on Feb. 14 at McKethan Stadium.
