Logan Shore earned himself a pie on Pi Day.
Pitcher Keenan Kish pied the freshman right-hander after he earned the win in Florida’s (12-6, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) 2-1 victory against Arkansas (8-6, 0-1 SEC) Friday night at McKethan Stadium. The win was Shore’s first in his college career.
“That’s as good a start as we’ve had around here,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
Shore started the game out hot, striking out two on devastating low sliders. After the Gators spotted him a run in the bottom half of the inning, he surrendered the tying run but struck out two more on low-90s fastballs.
“I had a little adrenaline going in the first inning and through the third or fourth,” Shore said. “It’s always nice to come out and strike out a couple guys in the first and get the team back in the dugout quick.”
Shore only punched out one more batter in the game, but he continued setting down Razorbacks, setting down seven in a row in the fifth, sixth and start of the seventh inning. By that time, the Gators’ offense had given him another run on its second RBI groundout, which was all he needed.
“He carved up tonight,” catcher Taylor Gushue said. “He did such a good job. For a freshman to come out, first SEC game and carve like that is unbelievable.”
Shore got into a spot of trouble in the seventh, falling behind three straight hitters and giving up back-to-back singles before O’Sullivan took him out. The freshman finished the game with 6.1 innings pitched, seven hits and one run allowed.
O’Sullivan had high praise for Shore after the game, calling his start “Hudson Randall-like,” referring to the former Florida starter who is currently pitching in the Detroit Tigers minor league system.
“Forget the fact that he’s a freshman, it was a really, really good start,” O’Sullivan said. “Then you add in the fact that he’s a freshman — that’s pretty good.”
After taking Shore out, O’Sullivan needed his bullpen to avoid the big inning it gave up against Illinois State on Wednesday, in which the Florida relievers surrendered four runs and allowed the Redbirds back into the game.
They did.
Junior Bobby Poyner came in to match up against left-handed hitter Andrew Benintendi, and he forced the center fielder to ground out on two pitches.
After Poyner’s short outing, O’Sullivan brought in sophomore Aaron Rhodes, who had one of the best nights of his career.
Rhodes struck out second baseman Brian Anderson to end the seventh inning and then proceeded to strike out the next four batters he faced through the eighth and ninth frames.
The right-hander struck out six of the seven batters who came up against him in his 2.1 innings of work, earning himself his second save of the year.
“It’s huge to get the first SEC win of the year out of the way on the first game,” Rhodes said.
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Florida celebrates during a 4-0 win against Ole Miss on March 31 at McKethan Stadium.
