Tag: Carsten Finnvold

Florida bullpen implodes against Miami, wastes Waldrep’s 14 Ks

Miami shelled the Florida bullpen Saturday night and tied the series heading into Sunday. Gators starter Hurston Waldrep had a career-high 14 strikeouts.

The Florida Gators wasted a dominant performance from Southern Miss transfer [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] Saturday night in a 14-6 loss to the Miami Hurricanes.

Waldrep continued a masterful start to his Gators career, setting a new personal high of 14 strikeouts through six-plus innings, but he didn’t earn a decision because of another bad outing from Florida’s bullpen.

The Southern Miss transfer cruised through the first two innings of the game and struck out five of the first seven batters he faced. He gave up his first home run of the season in the third and then worked his way out of jams in each of the next two innings. Waldrep gave up another big fly in the sixth to freshman Blake Cyr, but the Gators still had the lead heading into the final third of the game up 6-3.

Unfortunately, the seventh was a bit of a disaster for Florida. Waldrep hit the leadoff man and gave up a single before exiting the game, and both of the runs ended up scoring as the Gators worked their way through three relief pitchers, [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag], [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] and [autotag]Fisher Jamerson[/autotag], to get out of the inning with a 6-6 tie.

Florida had a chance to bounce back immediately after loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh for [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who already had two home runs on the night, but Miami freshman Chris Scinta got out of the inning without giving the lead back to UF.

The Hurricanes wouldn’t be denied in the eighth either. Jameson gave up a leadoff home run and loaded the bases before handing the ball over to [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag], who gave up three runs on a walk and a double while striking out the side.

The bullpen implosion led to [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] getting a chance to pitch, which is a move likely designed to preserve arms for Sunday. The plan worked, but it cost the soft-throwing lefty some dignity. Finnvold loaded the bases without recording an out and gave up another run on a sacrifice fly.

Cyr hit his second home run of the night, a three-run shot, to put the Hurricanes up 14-6, and it’s hard to believe that this is the same game Waldrep started with 14 strikeouts through six innings. Finnvold finally got out of the top of the ninth, and Florida went down without a fight, tying up the series.

Waldrep deserved the spotlight in this one, but the bullpen stole it from him with an awful performance.

Florida and Miami will face off in a rubber match Sunday at noon.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1369]

[mm-video type=video id=01gse5agk1vyyxhvp4h1 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gse5agk1vyyxhvp4h1/01gse5agk1vyyxhvp4h1-2c138d7bb2195f064f6a8b073f8e58c5.jpg]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

2023 Baseball Season Preview: Bullpen

Florida didn’t lose a ton from last year’s bullpen, so the experience should help a good group become great in 2023.

With one day left until the start of the 2023 college baseball season, Gators Wire is looking at Florida’s bullpen.

The first thing that stands out is just how much depth there is separate from [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s starting rotation. The team is returning seven contributing arms from a season ago and has added one key transfer and four freshmen to the ‘pen.

In a big game, it’s fairly clear who would pitch the seventh, eighth and ninth innings for Florida, and there are plenty of options that can go long if a starter has to leave a game early. Florida’s only losing about 20 innings out of last year’s bullpen, so fans should see a considerable amount of growth from the sophomore class.

Leading the way statistically are [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag]. Junior college transfer [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag] is in line to step into the closing role, at least to begin the season, and there’s a handful of second and third-year guys ready to eat innings.

This should be an efficient group for Florida, but the top of the bullpen is a lot stronger than the middle and bottom.

2023 Baseball Season Preview: Starting Pitchers

The Gators have an elite 1-2 punch at the top of the order, but there are some questions about how the rest of the rotation will play out with so much depth on the team.

Gators Wire is breaking up the pitching preview for Florida’s 2023 baseball season into two parts. The first will cover starters and potential starters for the team, and the second will discuss those who are primed to come out of the bullpen.

As usual, Florida has a fairly strong group of arms on the mound to lean on this year. Getting [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] back was massive for the program, and Hurston Waldrep transferring in gives Florida a pair of potential first-rounders at the top of the weekend rotation.

Things are less clear after those two, though. Florida’s would-be Sunday guy is stealing on the road back from back surgery, and there could be some early competition for that spot. Of course, Florida has plenty of four-game and five-game weeks in the early season, so some more depth will be needed.

The freshman class has some talent that could be used early, and the fans will always want to see [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] on the mound after his legendary performance in the NCAA Tournament last year.

Florida baseball adds key arm through transfer portal

Billy Napier’s group wasn’t the only team at UF making noise in the transfer portal on Thursday.

There’s a good chance Florida baseball loses both [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] to the MLB draft in the next 10 days, but [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s latest move might make that blow hurt less than expected. [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], Southern Mississippi’s Sunday starter for most of 2022 who entered the transfer portal after a breakout season, committed to the orange and blue on Thursday, according to Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.

Waldrep was a key member of one of the nation’s top pitching staffs last year. The Golden Eagles finished second among all Division I programs in earned run average (3.29), strikeouts per nine innings (11.3) and strikeout to walk ratio (4.22). Waldrep ended his sophomore campaign with an ERA of 3.20, 140 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.16 over 90 innings of work in 17 starts.

Although he played in Conference USA, Waldrep’s final two games came against SEC opponents. He racked up double-digit strikeouts in both NCAA Tournament outings — 11 against LSU in the regional round and 12 against Ole Miss in the super regionals. He’s also teammates with [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] on the USA collegiate national team.

A rising junior, Waldrep has a chance to be the Friday night starter at Florida if Barco and Sproat do end up leaving. Assuming those in the transfer portal end up leaving, [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] and [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] are the expected returning starters. Waldrep likely starts the season ahead of all of those names and Barco won’t be ready for opening day anyway if he does return.

This is Sully’s third pick-up through the transfer portal after adding Coastal Carolina infielder [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] and Mercer outfielder [autotag]Colby Thomas[/autotag]. The Gators will likely add another name or two through the portal when all is said and done. Follow all of Florida’s transfer portal actions with our tracker for more on those two.

Waldrep features a fastball, curveball and changeup. The fastball tops out around 95-96 mph with reports of it touching 98 mph, but he sat around 92-93 mph with Team USA a week ago.

[mm-video type=video id=01g7f6ky55ank4ejvt2q playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g7f6ky55ank4ejvt2q/01g7f6ky55ank4ejvt2q-ac82d53cf7fbd9cf34b5f8747f121608.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=86490,86473,85260]

[listicle id=85639]

[listicle id=85310]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

What’s next for Florida baseball: A post-mortem of the 2022 season

Buckle in, Gators Wire’s 2022 Baseball Season Recap is finally here. We dive into all 35 players one by one and go over where they stand after the season.

The Florida Gators’ 2022 baseball season ended Monday with a 5-4 loss in the regional finals of the NCAA Championship Tournament against Oklahoma. The year was filled with ups and downs, but being six outs away from a Super Regional berth isn’t too shabby for a team with 16 new players on the roster.

Pitching was a bit of a disappointment early on, but a few freshmen started to stand out from the bunch. That depth allowed the Gators to make a deeper run than most expected in the playoffs and finish the year 42-24.

Conference play was a bit of a struggle. UF finished the regular season .500 against the SEC, including series losses to Georgia (sweep), LSU, Tennessee (sweep) and Vanderbilt. A 9-3 finish against the weaker members of the conference (Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina) allowed Florida to finish with a respectable record, but things didn’t really turn around until Texas A&M beat them via the mercy rule.

After that 10-0 loss, Florida played like the team it needed to be all year. It even got legendary performances from the likes of Carsten Finnvold, a freshman who hadn’t seen game action since April when he got the start against Tennessee in theSEC Tournament.

Then there’s the offense. At times, the veteran group didn’t back up the young pitching staff as it was expected to. Jud Fabian was a disappointment down the stretch, hitting just .185 against the conference and going 1-for-30. To his credit, Fabian struck out 10 times less than he did a year ago in about 40 more plate appearances. Walks were also up considerably, so his eye definitely improved despite the low average.

On the other side of things, Wyatt Langford made a complete transformation over the offseason and became one of the best leadoff guys in baseball. He led the team in most major offensive categories and tied Matt LaPorta’s 2005 school record of 26 homers in a season.

There’s a lot to celebrate about with this team, and a lot to address moving forward. Many of them have played their final games in the Orange in Blue, and others are just starting to tell their story.

What will the team look like next year? There’s only one way to properly answer that question and it’s long-winded. Feel free to jump to the sections that interest you the most as we break down the team position by position.

Game Preview: Florida faces off in regional rubber match against Oklahoma

These Gators sure have a flair for the dramatic, huh? Florida baseball faces off with Oklahoma for the third time in three days to determine which club heads to the Super Regionals.

Florida took care of both Central Michigan and Oklahoma on Sunday to force a third and final game with the Sooners on Monday to decide which team continues their season in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament.

The Gators won’t have [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] on the mound Monday to go nine innings against OU, but the freshman’s clutch outing has the momentum firmly on UF’s side. At a certain point on Sunday, the Sooners looked perplexed as they continued to pop up Finnvold’s high 70s to low 80s stuff without changing their swings. That kind of funk carries over in a tournament like this, especially as pitching depth gets stretched further and further.

After using both [autotag]Timmy Manning[/autotag] and Finnvold on Sunday, Florida is essentially out of starters with decent experience. [autotag]Anthony Ursitti[/autotag] gave up six earned runs the last time he was on the mound against Alabama, and [autotag]Garrett Milchin[/autotag] hasn’t made a start since [autotag]Nick Pogue[/autotag] took over the No. 3 spot. It might fall on one of them Monday, but the bullpen is sure to work most of the ballgame barring another miraculous pitching performance.

The good news is Florida’s best hitters are hitting. [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] went yard twice in the late game Sunday, and [autotag]Wyatt Langford [/autotag]hit a pair of long balls in the early matchup. That puts Fabian at 24 homers for the year and Langford at 25, which is good enough for the Nos. 2 and 3 spots in the school’s single-season record book.

[autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] has been on another planet since regionals started, hitting 8-for-14 so far through the four games. It also comes right after a 4-for-25 slump in the conference tournament, so [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] is really enjoying having his bat back.

First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT at Condron Family Ballpark on Monday.

Finnvold hurls full 9 innings to force regional final rematch with Oklahoma

Florida baseball is one win away from a Super Regional berth after Carsten Finnvold led the Gators to victory over Oklahoma.

True freshman [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] pitched the game of his life Sunday to give Florida another chance at extending their season on Monday. The lefty came in relief for the Gators during the very first inning, but he’d close out the game for the Orange and Blue, throwing 116 pitches along the way. UF came out on top, 7-2, and will play Oklahoma again on Monday to decide which club heads to the Super Regionals.

[autotag]Timmy Manning[/autotag] got the ball to start the game after proving himself against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament, but [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] pulled him before he recorded an out Sunday night. In Sully’s defense, Manning loaded the bases on 11 pitches (hit by pitch, two walks) and losing this game would mean an end to the Gators’ 2022 campaign.

“I knew this had the potential to be our last game,” Finnvold said. “So, I just really wanted to give my team a chance to win and try to keep the score close and strand the runners where they were.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Finnvold came out and worked his way out of the bases-loaded jam by forcing three-straight balls in the air. Pop-ups and flyouts would become a theme in this one for Finnvold, who recorded just one strikeout through six innings of work. That didn’t matter much though as he stayed perfect through the next four innings.

Trouble came in the sixth, but Finnvold had a lead to work with after [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] hit a home run (No. 23) in the fourth and Jac Caglianone drove in [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] in the fifth. Oklahoma strung together four-straight hits (three singles, one double) against him but it was all weak contact that scored just two runs. That’s one of the benefits of topping out in the mid-80s, opposing batters have less velocity to turn around.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] drove in Thompson to give Florida the lead right back in the top of the seventh, and, surprisingly, Finnvold returned for the final three innings of the ball game. He cruised through those nine outs and even managed to rack up three more strikeouts to bring his total to four on the evening.

“To (Oklahoma’s) credit, they’re a really great ball club,” Finnvold said. “A really great swinging team, a really great pitching team. I just needed to hit my spots and execute pitches in big situations.”

Fabian kicked off a four-run eighth that effectively put the game away with another home run (No. 24 for Jud). [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag], [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] and [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] scored thanks to some sloppy defense by the Sooners.

Finnvold closed it out, and thank god he did because [autotag]Kris Armstrong[/autotag] was warming up in the bullpen, according to Nick de la Torre. He hasn’t pitched since his freshman year in 2019 and Florida already blew one five-run lead earlier in the day.

Florida faces one more elimination game on Monday at 1 p.m. with a Super Regional berth on the line.

[mm-video type=video id=01g4v2v8jgxzgz28jt00 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g4v2v8jgxzgz28jt00/01g4v2v8jgxzgz28jt00-a4cd98a8b02ed9f6750b9d0522cc3ed1.jpg]

[vertical-gallery id=85128]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Sooners struggle against Carsten Finnvold, fall to Florida 7-2 to set up Monday rematch

After the Sooners loaded the bases with no outs in the first, Florida pitching shut down OU all night and forced a second game in a 7-2 win

Things were looking good to start the evening for the Sooners. Peyton Graham, Blake Robertson and John Spikerman were all on base in the first inning with no one out and the Gators were already tapping into their bullpen.

Then Carsten Finnvold took the mound.

The freshman retired the Sooners in order and shut down the Sooners’ early chance to get a big lead. Oklahoma didn’t get another hit until the sixth inning.

The Gators rode Finnvold’s stellar relief outing to a 7-2 win to push the Gainesville Regional Final to a second game. The winner Monday will move on to Super Regionals to face No. 4 Virginia Tech.

While Cade Horton had a solid night with only two earned runs in 6.1 innings, the OU bullpen couldn’t keep the Gators off the board and allowed a four-run eighth inning.

The Sooners were stagnant in every inning other than the first and sixth. They were retired in order six times on the evening.

Fatigue didn’t seem to be an issue for the Gators, who once again defeated Central Michigan earlier on Sunday to earn this rematch with the Sooners. Finnvold pitching as long as he did against OU after Florida used five pitchers against the Chippewas could be huge for the second game tomorrow.

Oklahoma and Florida will face off Monday at noon.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Florida falls short in SEC Tournament championship game against Tennessee

The Vols were clearly the better team, but Florida’s run to the SEC Tournament championship game had the team in much better spirits heading into regionals.

Florida fell just short of winning it all in Hoover, Alabama, on Sunday losing to the Tennesee Volunteers, 8-5, in the final round of the SEC Tournament.

The Gators threw [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag], a freshman out of American Heritage Del Ray in Palm Beach County, Florida, and he kept Tennessee quiet through four innings. His low-speed fastball kept the Volunteers off balance and quiet through four innings, but the No. 1 team in the country got going in the fifth.

[autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] sent a ball to first that [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] couldn’t snag to put a runner on second with no outs. Blake Burke singled Evan Russell over to second and Finnvold got Cortland Lawson swinging. Seth Stephenson bunted for an RBI-base hit on a ball that Finnvold could’ve made a play on if he wasn’t tripped up by his own team. Luc Lipcius took strike three looking for out two in the inning.

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] decided to walk the bases loaded for Tennessee’s No. 4 hitter Drew Gilbert and it almost paid off. Finnvold got a fly ball to left field, but [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] came in on the ball and let it go over his head to clear the bases. Four runs were scored in the inning and none of them were earned for Finnvold.

[autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] came in to get out of the inning, but he’d get back into trouble in the sixth. The Vols put up a three-spot on the Gators’ best reliever and took a commanding 7-0 lead. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] pitched the eighth for UF without much trouble. Only a Stephenson single threatened throughout the inning.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run shot against Ben Joyce, who was throwing over 100 mph. Joyce was Tennessee’s fourth pitcher of the night after lefty Camden Sewell gave the Vols a five-inning start. Will Mabrey and Mark McLaughlin were first out of the bullpen, then Joyce and Zander Sechrist, and finally Kirby Connell finished it up through eight.

The Gators added one more run on a two-out [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] single, but [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] hit a weak grounder to third for an easy tag out of Jud Fabian.

Gilbert got ahold of another one in the ninth and made it 8-3 with a solo shot. Lipscomb doubled and knocked Abner out of the game for [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag]. Russell almost took another ball out, but Langford got it on the warning track.

Redmond Walsh finished it off for the Volunteers. Pinch hitter Kendrick Calilao popped up on a 2-2 count into foul territory for the first out of the inning. Langford doubled to start the final push, and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] doubled him home.

Riopelle moved Thomspon over to third, and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] drove him in on an error by the second baseman who was shifted out of position. [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] gave a ball a ride, but the left fielder tracked it down and Florida’s rally fell short. It’s a disappointing end to a great run by the Gators, especially considering four of Tennessee’s runs came unearned.

Going into the tournament, Florida’s postseason hopes looked bleak. A win or two in the regional round seemed to be the best possible outcome, but this SEC Tournament run has Florida in the conversation to host a regional. The NCAA will announce hosts at 8:30 p.m. EDT Sunday night.

[mm-video type=video id=01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2/01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2-58e19f3de57855c69ec31ad89976581f.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=84717,84665,84627,84577,84425]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!