Tag: Hurston Waldrep

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.

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Wyatt Langford leads Florida over Miami in Game 1 of weekend series

Things got off to a bad start, but Florida eventually overpowered Miami on Friday night and claimed the first game of the weekend series.

Florida got off to a slow start against the Miami Hurricanes on Friday night, but the Gators never looked back once the offense got going and powered the team to a 10-4 victory in Game 1 of the series.

Three Gators combined for four home runs on the night, including a pair from [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] who has been waiting for the right game to make some noise. Langford’s first came in the bottom of the first inning and helped chip away at an early 3-0 Miami lead. The second came in the sixth to add to a three-run lead. He also drove in a run in the fourth on a double to finish the night with a team-high three RBIs.

[autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag], who pinch hit for [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] in the sixth, also homered in the inning, and [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] hit a two-run shot to left field in the eighth to make bring the lead up to six. Kurland is now on a nine-game hitting streak to begin his collegiate career.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] drove in runs on back-to-back singles in the third, and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] also drove in a run in the fourth.

With all the scoring happening throughout the night, it’s hard to believe that things looked grim at one point for Florida, but right-hander [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] did not get off to his best start. Despite pumping 100 mph in the first inning, Sproat gave up an early three-run home run to Miami’s best hitter, Yohandy Morales.

Sproat bounced back after the Morales big fly and lasted six innings for the Gators without giving up another run. He finished the night with nine strikeouts and four walks. Another run did score in the sixth while Sproat was still in, but it didn’t count against his record because of an error that lead off the inning.

The home run makes an otherwise strong start look average, but there’s no reason to worry about Sproat. He’s figuring out the consistency aspect of his game still, but the week-to-week improvements have been encouraging. The resiliency he showed today should get him a longer leash in big games.

Once Sproat came out of the game, Kevin O’Sullivan turned to freshman left-hander [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag], and the kid absolutely dominated. Fisher closed out the game for Florida, pitching three perfect innings and earning the save. The cherry on top: Fisher struck out Morales in the seventh to close out the inning.

Miami is not a bad team by any means, but Florida didn’t look particularly challenged after the first inning. Saturday’s matchup may be a bit different. The Hurricanes are throwing Karson Ligon, who has a 0.66 ERA, and Florida’s [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] is coming off a 13-strikeout game against Cincinnati.

First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Condron Ballpark in Gainesville.

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Series Preview: No. 6 Florida set for big weekend against No. 22 Miami

No. 6 Florida will host No. 22 Miami over the weekend in what will be the Gators’ first real test of the 2023 season.

Florida swept each of its first two weekend series of the season against Charleston Southern and Cincinnati, but now the Gators face a major test as the No. 22 Miami Hurricanes come into town.

Miami is 7-2 on the season with losses to Penn State and FAU, while Florida is 8-2 with losses to Jacksonville and USF. Both teams have a strong weekend rotation but Miami’s bullpen might be stronger right now. Florida has scored 40 more runs in just five more innings of action, though.

The annual series is always filled with emotions. Plenty of the state’s top prep players pick between the two (and Florida State) and are familiar with each other, so it’s fun for everyone involved. Florida took two of three last year in Miami, and the Gators enter the matchup ranked a good bit higher than the Hurricanes at No. 6 in the country.

A sweep of Miami would almost guarantee a bump up into the top five, but Kevin O’Sullivan would probably settle for taking the series. It will be the first real challenge for his team this year, but the expectation is that Florida will handle its in-state rival at home.

Key takeaways from Florida’s series sweep of Cincinnati

Florida baseball is off to a hot start and is now 7-1 after a series sweep of Cincinnati. Here’s what we learned over the weekend:

Florida swept the Cincinnati Bearcats over the weekend to bring the Gators to a 7-1 record to start the season.

After splitting a home-and-home series with the USF bulls over the week, Florida needed to bounce back in a big way. It did so to the tune of 13 runs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, while allowing Cincinnati to put up a combined 16 runs. It’s the second-straight weekend in a row that Florida has doubled its opponents, and the team looks pretty unstoppable out of the gate.

The weekend rotation is elite and needs significantly less help from the bullpen than the midweek starters. At the plate, everyone is hitting, and a new school record for home runs in a game being set on Sunday proves that this team has legitimate power.

It’s hard to find something wrong with this Gators team right now. The club will eventually face some true adversity, but this is a group that’s firing on all cylinders.

Florida baseball claims series against Cincinnati with third mercy-rule win of 2023

Florida’s Hurston Waldrep struck out a baker’s dozen on Saturday while the offense clobbered Cincinnati’s staff and invoked the mercy rule.

The Florida Gators claimed its second series win of the year on Saturday with a walk-off 13-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats.

As the score might indicate, this was no typical walk-off win. Both teams agreed to play with a 10-run mercy rule before the series began, and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] put the Gators up by the magic number with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.

Cincinnati didn’t stand much of a chance with [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] on the mound for Florida. The Southern Miss transfer was masterful through six innings, striking out 13 while allowing just two runs on three hits and three walks.

Everything was working for him in this one. His fastball came in strong around 95-96 mph and topped out at 98 mph. His curveball and splitter were also effective. If this is what Waldrep looks like while he’s heating up, the rest of the SEC should be fearful of him catching on fire before the start of conference play.

Cincinnati’s starter, left-handed freshman Chase Horst, was not nearly as effective. He lasted just one inning and was pulled after loading the bases for the second time in as many innings. [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] had already punished him with a grand slam in the first, and UC head coach Scott Googins wasn’t going to risk a second salami.

Dylan Brosky took over and got out of the second inning allowing just one of those three baserunners to score. He ended up lasting 4 1/3 innings for the Bearcats and should get major props from his coach for preserving the bullpen for the final game of the series. Brosky allowed four runs to score over the afternoon, but things could have been a lot worse with Horst in.

[autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] and [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] each had two hits and two RBIs. Langford’s came on a homer in the fourth inning that scored both men, and Kurland’s provided the eighth and ninth runs of the night for Florida in the sixth. Richie Schiekofer also drove in a run in the seventh.

[autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] pitched the seventh and eighth for Florida. He cruised through the seventh and sat the Bearcats down in order, but the eighth gave him problems. After getting the first two out of the inning quickly, Ficarrotta gave up a pair of singles and hit a batter to give up one run.

Evans came up big in the bottom of the inning to deliver the final blow, but this was an all-around strong victory for Florida. Waldrep and Ficarrotta gave the rest of the pitching staff an extra day of rest, but [autotag]Jac Caglinanone[/autotag] might not need to much help from the bullpen on Sunday if he’s anywhere near as good as he was last week.

Florida goes for the sweep against Cincinnati on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST. SEC Network+ subscribers can watch the game on ESPN+, and WRUF is broadcasting the game on the radio for free as always.

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Series Preview: Gators hosting Cincinnati after suffering first loss

Florida and Cincinnati haven’t played since 2006 when the Gators outscored the Bearcats, 40-8, in the series. Will this weekend be as one-sided?

Florida baseball’s second weekend series of the 2023 season is against the Cincinnati Bearcats, and the Gators should come in with some extra motivation after a major meltdown against USF on Wednesday.

Cincinnati was picked by D1Baseball.com to finish sixth in the American Athletic Conference, which is one spot higher than the Bulls were picked to finish. The difference between the two teams is that South Florida is considered a bit of a wild card that could finish much higher than seventh in the conference. Florida saw some of that potential in the ninth inning on Wednesday, but Cincinnati doesn’t have that same wildcard factor.

Florida should also benefit from some more depth on the mound after resting up several bullpen arms after their first appearances of the season. [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag], [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] should all push for six-inning starts.

Offensively, freshman infielder [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] leads the team with six hits in 10 at-bats. Caglianone is also on a hot streak at the plate. He’s hitting .500 through 16 at-bats and had home runs in each of the last two games. USF intentionally walked him twice on Wednesday.

The only Gators that aren’t hitting above .300 to start the season are [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag]. The coaching staff entered the season with a ton of confidence in Fabian at the plate, so this could be the game he gets started. Halter was an All-Star in the Cape Cod League this offseason, so he should get a long leash despite starting the season off hitless through 10 at-bats.

5 major takeaways from Florida’s opening-series sweep over Charleston Southern

We learned a lot about the 2023 Florida baseball team over the weekend, and the good news is they might be even better than we thought before the season started.

Florida baseball began its season the right way over the weekend with a sweep of Charleston Southern that saw the Gators outscore the Buccaneers 37-5 over three games.

Things could have been even more one-sided, too. Both programs agreed to a 10-run mercy rule for the series, and Florida ended each of the first two games by the seventh. The Gators threatened a third-straight mercy-rule win on Sunday, but only scored eight runs and played the first nine-inning game of the season.

It’s too early to declare the team Omaha-bound, but Florida looked strong in every phase of the game through the first weekend of the season. That said, there’s an entire season left to play and the players have to endure a tough SEC schedule before getting to the postseason. Things could look very different in just a few weeks.

But right now, Florida looks just as good as advertised and there aren’t many negatives to take away from opening weekend.

Series Preview: Florida begins 2023 season with series against Charleston Southern

Baseball is back and the Gators are looking to start the 2023 season with a few wins over Charleston Southern.

The grass is cut, the lights on the scoreboard have been replaced and it’s time once again to begin another Florida Gators baseball season.

UF starts its season with a weekend series at home against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, and it will be a chance for the Gators to see how the new-look starting rotation fares against a beatable opponent. Gone is [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] after being selected in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft, but head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] has reloaded with Southern Miss and Preseason All-American [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag]. Not to mention Florida’s retention of last year’s No. 2, [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag], despite a third-round selection in the draft.

Two-way sophomore [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who spent the second half last season as the team’s designated hitter, should get the Sunday start. It’ll be his first competitive game back on the mound since undergoing Tommy John surgery as a senior in high school.

On offense, all eyes are on projected first-round pick [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]. The Gators’ left fielder tied the team’s season record for home runs a season ago and led Florida in nearly every major offensive statistic. He’ll be the biggest bat in the lineup this year, but there are plenty of others that can hit on the team.

Catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag], shortstop [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] and third baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] all return despite interest from the pros. They’ll be looked at as the leaders of the team early.

Finally, there are the freshmen. As usual, Florida has an incredibly strong freshman class on the roster and they are most likely to get playing time early in the year. Fans could be seeing some of the future this weekend.

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 still figuring out Sunday starter with Coppola out

Left-hander Pierce Coppola is going to need a bit longer to get back to 100%, so who does Florida turn to on Sundays in the meantime?

The 1-2 punch of [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] will lead Florida’s weekend rotation in 2023, but it’s going to take some time for the Gators to figure out who the third pitcher in the group will be with lefty sophomore [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] on the mend until conference play.

Gators head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] put the timeline for Coppola’s return out there on Monday during his first media availability of the preseason. Coppola, of course, started the 2022 season off as the Gators’ Sunday guy but had his season end after one start.

A bulging disc in his back that was already bothering him worsened quickly, and he had surgery on it. He’ll have to wait until the middle of March to get back out on the mound regularly, but Sully doesn’t seem to mind moving slowly on this one if it means keeping Coppola healthy.

“We’re just bringing Pierce along slowly,” O’Sullivan said. “Obviously, he didn’t play this summer. He pitched a very little bit this fall, so our goal with him is to get him to hopefully be at 100% by SEC play.”

In the meantime, O’Sullivan says the team has plenty of options to work with for the third starter spot. Guys like [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] are candidates to get a shot at the Sunday spot, and there’s plenty of competition on the mound.

“I think you’ll probably have to look at Jac (Caglianone),” he said. “You have to look at (Brandon) Neely. Neely had a good freshman year. You know, Slater. (Phillip) Abner’s been throwing the ball better. We’ve got a lot of options, but I think the biggest thing is the next week or so is important. We’ve got to figure out who’s going to be that Sunday starter.”

Caglianone is coming off of Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school. He returned to action in the second half of last season but stayed in the designated hitter spot to protect his arm. Now that he’s throwing from the mound again (and topping out in the upper 90s), Florida hopes to use him as a starter regularly.

“It’s really hard to bring a guy in the middle of a game and long relief, and honestly, if we’re going to be as good as we want to be, (Caglianone)’s going to have to pitch significant innings for us,” he said. “He’s just too talented to not run him out there as much as you can.

“There will be some growing pains because it’s been since I think May of his senior year that he’s actually pitched in a real competitive game other than the two fall games we had. You don’t have many players that can hit the baseball over 100 mph and throw close to 100 on the mound. They just don’t come around very often.”

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] had a strong freshman year and is one of the other names O’Sullivan mentioned. He made 21 appearances, including 10 starts, in 2022, finishing the year with a 3.76 ERA  and 74 strikeouts and just 20 walks. He could emerge as a strong weekday starter, too.

[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] could also get some looks on the mound after starting a game last year and making 26 total appearances for Florida. His 8.06 ERA left a lot to be desired and wasn’t making too many batter swing and miss, but he should take a step forward after a year in the league.

O’Sullivan obviously feels the pressure to figure out who his third starter is, but Florida can afford to give everyone a shot while Coppola is on the mend. They have an answer for the second half of the season, so it might be better to see what everyone’s got rather than establishing a starter and moving him out of that routine.

Florida’s first three-game series begins on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. EST against Charleston Southern.

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