Hurston Waldrep opens up on what it means to lead Florida to College World Series

Florida pitcher Hurston Waldrep was at a loss for words after helping lead the Gators to a 4-0 win against South Carolina on Saturday. Waldrep started the game and pitched eight innings to record an impressive 13 strikeouts to punch Florida’s ticket 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 for the first time since 2018.

“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 College World Series is set to begin June 16 as Super Regionals will wrap up Monday.