Finnvold cements his name in Florida Gators lore

Carsten Finnvold entered an impossible situation and produced an improbable outcome in one of the gutsiest performances that will go down in Florida Gators history. Finnvold’s night won’t get turned into a movie. It was too improbable. The script reads like the movie Rudy, if Daniel Ruettiger would have recorded seven sacks, two forced fumbles, and a touchdown.

The freshman from American Heritage Delray came to Florida to study finance. As the season progressed and the team began traveling in the SEC Finnvold’s name wasn’t on the travel roster. College coaches are restricted to just 27 on the travel roster. Finnvold had allowed just one hit over his first three innings of work. In his third outing, he allowed six runs, five earned, and recorded just one out against Seton Hall. He got another chance two weeks later against LSU but allowed three runs on two hits and three walks to LSU.

That was it.

Finnvold spent the next two months watching his teammates pack their travel bags, load up on a bus and leave.

“That’s probably the most difficult thing in my job is to put together that 27-man travel roster. I hate it,” Kevin O’Sullivan said. “You got to post it, and somebody has to stay home. It’s gut-wrenching at times because you’re leaving home good kids that deserve to be with their teammates.”

“That was probably one of the harder things I’ve dealt with in my baseball career,” Finnvold said after the game. “It’s pretty disheartening to watch your team play and your not there to help them out. I grew up a lot these last three months.”

Making the most of his opportunity

When the travel roster was posted for the SEC tournament Finnvold’s name was on it.

“I was really pumped up. It was my first time traveling in two-three months,” he said. “When I got the opportunity to pitch I knew I had to make the best of it.”

The opportunity to pitch was far from guaranteed. Florida needed to win a game against South Carolina to even advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. After succeeding in that endeavor they lost their next game to Texas A&M. One more loss and Finnovld would have been a spectator, albeit in person this time. Then Florida went on a run all the way to the SEC Championship game against No. 1 Tennessee.

Finnvold was called on to make his first career start against the team with the most home runs in the country, and one who had just tied the record for most SEC wins in a season.

“Well, we know they can hit a plus-fastball,” Kevin O’Sullivan said after the game in Hoover. “He’s a different look, and obviously you run across pitchers like him, you don’t see guys like him a lot.”

Different look, sure. Good luck, kid.

Finnvold allowed four earned runs over 4.2 innings against that lineup. He gave the Gators a chance in a game they probably didn’t have any business being in.

Finnvold gets an unlikely call

The Gators’ loss to Oklahoma on Saturday left them needing another Hoover maneuver. Florida faced Central Michigan in an elimination game at 1:00. They used five pitchers to get past the Chippewas, leaving them with few options for the second leg of their double-header against Oklahoma.

Timmy Manning got the nod. The sophomore southpaw hit the leadoff batter, then threw two wild pitches to advance him to third. He walked the next man he faced. Finnvold was sent sprinting to the bullpen with instructions to get hot quickly.

“The sprint was part of the warmup,” Finnvold said with a chuckle. “Then it was just 10 pitches and I was ready to go.”

That’s all the time he had. Manning walked one more batter and was given the hook after just 11 pitches.

Now, Finnvold was tasked with entering a game from the bullpen in the bottom of the first with the bases loaded and nobody out. The best you could hope for would be to limit the damage. Giving up one run would be terrific. Two is fine. You’d hope not to allow all three to score.

The first batter he faced watched a 74 mph change-up tumble out of Manning’s hand. He was so early on a 65 mph curveball that it nearly went into the third-base dugout. Finnvold is, indeed, a different look.

His fastball won’t break 85 but he mixed three pitches, spotted them all to both sides of the plate, and got three consecutive harmless pop flies to fall into waiting gloves. The lefty had entered an impossible situation and pulled off a most unexpected outcome.

Finnvold hopped off the mound and almost threw his shoulder out pumping his fist in celebration. The Gators rallied around him, his coaches hugged him as he came into the dugout. It was sensational but his outing was far from over.

The rest will go down in history

He threw five scoreless innings before allowing two runs on four hits in the sixth inning. That inning erased a 2-0 Florida lead but his head coach stuck with him.

He finished the seventh inning by setting down the Sooners in order, including two strikeouts. With 98 pitches thrown it could have been the end of his night. O’Sullivan sent him back out to the mound in the eighth inning but admitted after the game that if the leadoff runner had reached base he would have turned to the bullpen. Finnvold struck out the first batter he faced and got two flyouts to center to move on to the ninth.

One by one players filed out to head to their position but nobody was going to the mound. Pitchers were ready in the bullpen but it was Finnvold that emerged from the far end of the dugout. The lefty got a lineout to start the frame, gave up a single, and then rolled a double play ball to end the game.

Like in the first, his exuberance couldn’t be contained. He spiked his glove to the ground and his teammates surrounded him. He had just thrown nine innings. 116 pitches, allowing just five hits, two runs, and a win to keep his team alive.

“This time of year is always made for a hero. No better opportunity for that young man on the other side,” Oklahoma manager Skip Johnson said. “It was really, I hate to say it, but it was fun to watch.”

Finnvold received bear hugs from every one of his teammates after the game. He is the story of the Gainesville Regional. Regardless the outcome of Monday’s win or go home game, Carsten Finnvold’s performance will go down as one of the best performances, regardless of sport, in Florida history.