Logan Shore’s clutch outing keeps College World Series hopes alive for Florida

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Image Credit: ESPN Images

No. 1 Florida Gators baseball was forced to wait an additional three hours and 16 minutes to begin its quest to fight back from the brink of elimination and earn a measure of revenge for the Florida State Seminoles‘ shocking shutout victory on Saturday.

But when Florida took the field Sunday night at 9:16 p.m. and junior right-handed pitcher Logan Shore threw his first pitch some minutes later, it was obvious that there was an extra bounce in the Gators’ steps.

Making his final appearance at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, Shore — selected with the No. 47 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft on Thursday — pitched an absolute gem when UF needed it the most, striking out nine while giving up a pair of hits and walks on 114 pitches over eight-plus shoutout innings.

Shore’s clean sheet — giving him 30 career wins (one shy of a school record) with a 13-0 mark on the season — was enhanced by some mashing by junior first baseman Peter Alonso (3/4), who registered three doubles, two RBIs, two runs and a walk. Freshman second baseman Deacon Liput (1/4) chipped in with some much-needed insurance via a two-RBI single in the eighth and played well defensively for Florida, too.

The Gators’ strong outing comes just one day after they were stunned by the Seminoles, which shut out the hosts at home for the first time in program NCAA Tournament history.

Florida and Florida State will do battle in game three of the 2016 Gainesville Super Regional on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET live on ESPN2.

UF, which will throw this year’s No. 6 overall pick in junior left-hander A.J. Puk, is hoping to advance to the CWS for the second straight season, sixth time in the last 10 years and 10th time in program history.

The Gators have a 5-1 all-time series record when hosting a Super Regional, 2-0 when hosting the Noles. Florida is now 11-4 all-time in Super Regional games played in McKethan Stadium.