Kevin O'Sullivan reveals his message to Hurston Waldrep after mishap with hat while trying to cover first base

Florida pitcher Hurston Waldrep lost control Wednesday in a second round SEC Tournament game against Alabama after his hat fell over his eyes. The cap blocked his vision, causing him to miss a chance to secure the final out of the inning as Drew Williamson reached first base.

The mistake later led to Alabama scoring its first run of the game after an RBI single from Colby Shelton brought Williamson home. Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan made a visit with Waldrep after the play to help his pitcher regain his composure, as he was naturally upset with himself.

O’Sullivan later joined the SEC Network broadcast for an in-game interview, where he revealed what he told Waldrep.

“This was regroup,” he said. “(Andrew) Pinckney’s coming up and he’s gonna swing early in the count. Put that behind ‘ya and just move forward.”

It took Waldrep a bit to recover from the play, as he hit Pinckney with a pitch before giving up the single to Shelton. However, he then struck out Dominic Tamez in the next at-bat to get Florida out of the inning with a 2-1 lead.

“When you have kids that are that competitive, you know things can kind of spiral and get away from them in a hurry because they’re still focused on what just happened,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s really just a visit to say, ‘calm down. There’s no damage done. Let’s focus on getting Pinckney.’ Obviously, he’s swinging the bat really well and I didn’t want things to spiral out of control there. That’s all.”

The Gators continued to stick with Waldrep after the hat mishap, as he pitched up until midway through the sixth inning. However, after giving up two more runs as Alabama took a 3-2 lead, he was pulled as Ryan Slater entered in relief.

Waldrep finished his day with seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. Florida currently trails Alabama 3-2 in the top of the eighth inning in Hoover.

If Alabama is able to hold on to beat Florida, it would be a big upset as the Gators entered the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The tournament is double-elimination, so Florida will still have another game on Thursday regardless of the result.

Earlier in the interview, O’Sullivan revealed his strategy with pitcher as the NCAA Tournament looms.

“I think the biggest thing whenever you come into the tournament and there’s not a lot riding as far as seedings are concerned, the most important thing is to, No. 1 stay healthy,” he said. “But, No. 2 you’d like to get your three starters their starts in and get your main relievers in before we start postseason.”