Logan Shore remembers his first taste of Southeastern Conference play.
It was two years ago on March 14.
Shore earned the win in a 2-1 victory over Arkansas. The Coon Rapids, Minnesota, native was just a freshman, but he was the Friday-night starter.
Two seasons later, Shore said he didn’t know what he was getting into.
"I didn’t even really understand what SEC play was," he said. "Once you kind of got into it and started experiencing how good some of these teams and players are, you kind of get a feel for what you’re going up against."
For the third time in his career, Shore will take the mound for top-ranked Florida’s first conference game when the Gators take on Missouri tonight at 7 at McKethan Stadium.
Shore said he’s excited to begin SEC play, and he’s looking forward to bouncing back from his worst start of the season against Harvard in his previous outing.
The Crimson pounded Shore to the tune of nine hits and five runs, which tied Shore’s career high in runs allowed. Although the junior’s ERA jumped to 2.00, he still earned the win to improve to 4-0.
"It was just kind of one those outings where I missed on a couple pitches and they made me pay for it," Shore said. "I talked with Sully a lot about that this week, especially going into Missouri and teams like that where they’re gonna capitalize on mistakes. You just gotta make pitches."
The Tigers (14-6) have lost three of their last four games, but like Florida (18-1), they boast some pretty impressive arms.
The first two starters the Gators will see — redshirt senior Reggie McClain and sophomore Tanner Houck — have combined for a 5-1 record and a 1.21 ERA thus far.
Houck, who twirled a one-run, eight-inning gem in a 10-1 win over Florida last year, played with Shore as well as UF’s Buddy Reed, JJ Schwarz and A.J. Puk this summer for Team USA.
Shore knows just how good Houck is.
"He throws hard and sinks the ball," he said. "We’re just gonna go in there with a game plan and just try to attack and put some runs up on him early."
Freshman second baseman Deacon Liput will play a big factor in putting up those runs.
Liput has been a big reason UF has scored more than seven runs per game this year, as he’s hitting .379 and has reached base in all 19 games.
Liput said he’s relied on some of the upperclassmen to help prepare him for SEC play.
The Oviedo native said he’s planning on talking to Reed and Schwarz about Houck.
"I’m gonna talk to them a lot," Liput said. "They know what he’s really about (and) what he pitches most predominantly."
Although he's never faced some of the better pitchers in the SEC, Liput said he isn’t worried, because he’s already seen some tough arms.
"We’ve actually faced, on a couple teams now, pitchers that Sully had talked about being SEC-type arms," Liput said.
And although he’s a little nervous, Liput is excited for the conference season within the regular season. Before he knows it, Liput will be in Shore’s spot — a junior with two years of conference play under his wings.
Reflecting on his career at Florida, Shore’s message to the freshman is simple: "Don’t try to hype it up too much."
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Pinakk12.
Logan Shore pitches during Florida's 4-2 win against Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 19 at McKethan Stadium.
