Kevin O'Sullivan reveals the biggest key to Hurston Waldrep's strong stretch on the mound

One of the most important players this year for Florida has been star starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep. Lately, he’s pitched incredibly well for the Gators, and head coach Kevin O’Sullivan explained the key to this strong stretch of pitching.

O’Sullivan pointed to adjustments that Waldrep has made. This has given him more options and put him in good situations on the mound.

“I think he’s been able to make adjustments in game,” Kevin O’Sullivan said. “You can kind of tell they were swinging early in the count. And he’s had the ability to throw his curveball and his slider and a split early in the count.”

This season, Hurston Waldrep has a 3.99 ERA in 99.1 innings pitched. In the month of June, he’s been dominant, throwing 21 innings against UConn, South Carolina, and Oral Roberts. He’s only allowed two earned runs while striking out 37 in those games.

Kevin O’Sullivan explained that he thinks that as the season has gone on, Hurston Waldrep has been able to add more weapons to his arsenal, making him a tougher player to compete against.

“I think maybe through the first half of the year his split was more of a two-strike pitch. Now he’s been able to slow the ball down. And when people are swinging early in the count like they did, he’s got multiple weapons he can go to.”

Now, Hurston Waldrep is one of the top prospects in all of college baseball, currently ranked 20th among MLB Draft eligible players.

Hurston Waldrep admits it took a bit to settle in Omaha

By the end of his first start in Omaha, Hurston Waldrep had pitched six innings of one-run baseball. However, he did deal with some control issues and admitted that it took him a little bit to settle in.

“I mean, overall the end result was good. And that’s all that matters. But took me a little bit to settle in. It’s a big stage. And obviously a lot of feelings — a lot of adrenaline and emotions that come with this game. So able to settle in,” Waldrep said.

“Obviously didn’t have the best feel for my fastball, command of my fastball. So to be able to have the three off-speed pitches and rely on those and work with B.T. [Riopelle] really well, just to be able to control the game from there.”