After missing the first 30 games of the season due to a broken foot, sophomore Peter Alonso made his debut Friday for the No. 4 Gators baseball team.
He didn’t disappoint.
Alonso, who earned the nod at first base over freshman Jeremy Vasquez, went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBIs as Florida (24-7, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) defeated Missouri 5-1 in Columbia, Missouri.
The Gators hit .297 as a team compared to the Tigers’ .167 batting clip, and UF had four batters with multiple hits.
“Overall, I think this was the best game we have played all year and I am really pleased with our effort during the game,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said in a release. “Loved to see Pete back in the lineup. He got a couple of big hits.”
Missouri (20-11, 6-4 SEC) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI single by leadoff hitter Brett Peel, but Florida would hold the damage to just that for the remainder of the game.
UF tacked on its three runs in the fourth on a two-RBI triple by Josh Tobias — his third triple of the season — and an RBI groundout by JJ Schwarz. Alonso drove in the final two runs on a RBI double in the fifth.
Logan Shore, who tossed a complete game the last time he took the mound, had another solid outing. The sophomore right-handed pitcher tossed eight innings against Missouri, giving up just four hits and one earned run en route to his fifth win of the year. He struck out five of the 30 batters he faced and 69 of his 110 pitches were strikes.
“It was a tough night to pitch and the winds when the game started were over 20 miles per hour and a little chilly,” O’Sullivan said. “But, I’ll tell you what, for him to get out of the first inning with the bases loaded and nobody out, give up one in the second and he still wasn’t sharp, to go eight full (innings) and save our pen and do what he did, that’s one of the best performances I can remember as far as starting with adversity and being able to battle through it. “
Game 2 of the series is set to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday. Lefty A.J. Puk (5-2, 4.20 ERA) will take the mound for the Gators, facing Tigers righty Tanner Houck (4-1, 2.96 ERA).
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Logan Shore (32) pitches during Florida's 9-1 win against Rhode Island at McKethan Stadium.
