Gators Defeat Commodores in 1-Run Shutout

Jessica Ferralls May 9, 2014 College Baseball, Gators Baseball 190 Views

Thursday night, two top ten baseball teams met when Florida hosted Vanderbilt and when all was said and done, the Gators came out on top 1-0 in the first of a three game set.

Florida took a quick lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by junior Taylor Gushue, scoring Richie Martin. This would prove to be the only run in the game as pitching dominated the contest.

The Gators missed out on several more opportunities to score throughout the game, leaving 12 runners on base. Vanderbilt starter Tyler Beede gave up only three hits, but did allow a whopping six walks through six innings. Commodore reliever Adam Ravenelle continued the theme by walking four more Gators in his two innings of relief.

The 1-0 Florida lead was all the Gators would need for the night as freshman Logan Shore pitched 7.1 innings of two-hit, shutout baseball, with a career-high eight strikeouts. Lefty Bobby Poyner relieved Shore and pitched a perfect outing, earning his fourth save of the season and giving Shore his seventh win of the year.

“Taylor came out with a big knock in the first inning and that ended up being the difference,” Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Not a whole lot of margin for error in this game. We played great defense and so did Vanderbilt. It’s one of those games where both teams pitched very well, played great defense and it came down to both teams making a lot of quality pitches throughout the game.”

This marks a record-setting 12th consecutive SEC win for the Gators, giving them a solid three and a half game lead over Ole Miss in the overall SEC standings.

The Gators look to take the series Friday night at 7pm.

For audio on the series opener, click the links below: