After Florida’s 3-0 loss to Florida State on Saturday night, in which FSU pitcher Drew Carlton threw a complete-game shutout, Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan was surprisingly calm.
“We have the (Southeastern Conference) Pitcher of the Year pitching tomorrow. They’ve got a freshman named (Tyler) Holton,” O’Sullivan said. “I like our chances.”
He was right.
After more than a three-hour rain delay, Logan Shore led Florida to a 5-0 win over FSU in Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional, pitching eight innings and striking out nine batters at McKethan Stadium on Sunday night.
Holton gave up just two runs and six hits through six innings, but the Seminoles’ offense couldn’t supply their freshman pitcher with the run support he needed.
“(Holton) really gave his team a chance,” FSU coach Mike Martin said. “But Logan Shore didn’t give us a chance.”
No. 1-seed Florida (51-14) and FSU (41-21) will play again at 7 p.m. Monday, with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
After being shutout in Game 1, it took the Gators less than one inning to score Sunday night.
After the game’s first out, Peter Alonso hit a double off the left-field wall, scoring Dalton Guthrie from first.
Guthrie slid into home, pumping his fist and screaming at his teammates, who came to greet him at the plate.
Florida had the momentum.
“It’s an elimination game. You’ve got to put your heart and soul in it,” Alonso said. “We laid it all on the line.”
Florida scored again in the third inning after Holton threw two wild pitches, advancing Guthrie from first to third. Alonso’s RBI groundout sent Guthrie home.
In the eighth, Deacon Liput singled down the right-field line to score Buddy Reed and Alonso and increase UF’s lead to four.
Sophomore JJ Schwarz put the game out of reach in the ninth inning after he doubled to left field, scoring Alonso to give UF a five-run cushion.
“Any time you get shutout, you’re just trying to get some sort of momentum,” O’Sullivan said. “So it was important for us to get on the board early.”
But the story of the game was Shore, who earned his 12th win of the season Sunday.
In his final game at McKethan Stadium, the junior retired 24 of the 28 batters he faced, holding FSU scoreless for the first time since April 15.
“I don’t get to pitch against Florida State during the year, because we play them in the midweek,” said Shore, UF’s Friday night starter during the regular season. “That’s what I live for.”
Alonso had a game-high three hits and added two RBIs for Florida, and the Gators hit .270 while holding FSU to a .074 batting average — the Seminoles’ worst offensive outing of the postseason.
“He’s beautiful. He just carved us up,” Martin said of Shore. “We did make some mistakes and (Florida) took advantage of every mistake that we made, and that’s what good clubs do.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Logan Shore celebrates after throwing a complete-game shutout -- his school-record 13th consecutive win -- during Florida's 6-0 win against Georgia on April 22, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
