Hurston Waldrep gets showered with water following brilliant performance sending Gators to 2023 CWS
Florida pitcher Hurston Waldrep delivered a brilliant performance on Saturday evening against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Gainesville Super Regional. He fired 13 strikeouts and allowed just three hits in eight innings of work. Waldrep was masterful and received a standing ovation once he left the game. His big-time performance was pivotal in guiding the Gators to a 4-0 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks in Game 2. The Gators were the first team in the 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament to punch their tickets to the 2023 College World Series. After the game, Waldrep’s teammates decided to shower him with water right before his postgame interview.
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The trip to Omaha will be the first for the Gators baseball program since 2018. It marks the 13th appearance in the College World Series for Florida. The 8 innings pitched by Waldrep on Saturday night were a career-high.
Hurston Waldrep described what it meant to lead the Gators back to the College World Series
The junior joined ESPN postgame following the massive win, where he attempted to put into words just how much it means to get the Gators back to Omaha.
“I mean, wow,” he began. “I don’t even know what to say at this point. It was the most awesome thing I could ever dream of. This crowd, this scene is just amazing. This is what you play college baseball for. This is why you come to this level. This is what you wanna do. We knew coming into this game we had the chance to make it to Omaha. We had the chance to do it right here so I was like, ‘we’ve gotta come out, bring everything we have and just do what we’ve been doing all season.’”
The game was originally scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET, but a rain delay pushed it back by two-and-a-half hours. Waldrep didn’t appear fazed by the slow start, however, as he recorded a quick three strikeouts over the first two innings.
He finished the game with just three hits allowed. However, the pitcher admitted that he wasn’t feeling the most confident after warming up pregame.
“I’m not gonna lie, my bullpen was probably one of the worst bullpens that I’ve thrown in a long time,” Waldrep said. “I started throwing and I knew it was gonna be quick because I was really bad. Then I got out in the first inning and never looked back. I got comfortable and it was all from there.”
Brandon Nelly closed out the game in the ninth inning as Waldrep took a much-deserved rest. The pitcher said his teammate BT Riopelle attempted to convince coach Kevin Sullivan to let him close the game, but the Gators ultimately opted to preserve him for Omaha.
“Actually, BT did,” Waldrep said. “He went up to Sully and told me he wanted me to go back out. He asked me if I wanted to go back out and I said, ‘absolutely.’ I’m not turning that down.”
Waldrep will hope to carry over his hot play into Omaha next week. The 2023 College World Series is set to begin June 16 as Super Regionals will wrap up Monday.
On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.