Florida right-hander Hurston Waldrep has struck out 25 batters in 15 innings in his two NCAA Tournament appearances. (Photo: UAA Communications)
An Outing to Remember: Waldrep Pitches Gators to CWS in Spectacular Fashion
Saturday, June 10, 2023 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Half an hour after his son had a celebratory bucket of water poured over his head right as he prepared for a national TV interview, Cliff Waldrep's voice still cracked with emotion.
Waldrep was at Condron Ballpark on Saturday, watching his son, Gators right-hander Hurston Waldrep, turn into a Max Scherzer impersonator and pitch the Gators to their first trip to the College World Series in five years.
"It's unreal,'' said Cliff before correcting himself. "It's surreal. That's more like it."
Cliff Waldrep, his wife, their other kids, plus some of Hurston's friends and former coaches from back home in Thomasville, Ga., made the drive to UF for this weekend's NCAA Gainesville Super Regional between Florida and South Carolina. They wanted to watch Hurston pitch on the biggest stage of his career.
The McKethan Field mound on Saturday stood tall for the standing-rooming-only crowd of 8,851 on hand to see if the Gators could punch their ticket to Omaha with the help of the hard-throwing Waldrep, a transfer from Southern Mississippi who chose to come to Florida for opportunities like this.
They will be talking about what he did Saturday for years to come.
"We ran into a buzzsaw,'' South Carolina coach Mark Kingston said. "We had no answers. Nobody would have had answers for him today."
In one of the best pitching performances in school history, Waldrep pitched eight shutout innings in Florida's 4-0 victory over the Gamecocks to sweep the best-of-three super regional. The way Waldrep did it was sensational. He allowed only three hits, walked two and struck out 13 in a 117-pitch outing that drew his family and friends onto the field afterward to take snapshots for the scrapbook.
"He certainly pitched as good as anybody we've had,'' Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.
Considering some of the pitchers O'Sullivan has developed in his 16 seasons leading the program, that is a major-league compliment.
But if you watched Waldrep's work on Saturday, certainly fitting.
"If you want to see what a first-round talent looks like, that's a first-round guy,'' said Gamecocks starter Jack Mahoney, the unlucky soul matched on the mound against Waldrep.
Hurston Waldrep walks off the field after striking out the side in the fifth inning of Saturday's win over South Carolina. (Photo: UAA Communications)
Waldrep gave up a hit to the first batter he faced Saturday, a single to South Carolina leadoff hitter Will McGillis in the bottom of the first inning. But he got out of the inning undamaged, including a strikeout. He struck out two more Gamecocks in the second.
Waldrep looked sharp early, but he wasn't feeling that way in the bullpen as he warmed up following a 2-hour, 36-minute weather delay before the game.
"I'm not going to lie to you. My bullpen was probably one of the worst bullpens I have thrown in a long time,'' a drenched Waldrep said on ESPNews. "I got out in the first inning, didn't really look back. I got comfortable, and it was on from there."
He was on, alright.
Waldrep overpowered the Gamecocks more and more each inning, locating his high-90s fastball with an assortment of breaking balls. When he stepped onto the mound for the bottom of the ninth inning with a chance at a complete game, he had struck out nine of the last 13 batters he faced. However, after an infield single by Braylen Wimmer to open the inning, O'Sullivan came to get him as Brandon Neely took over for the final three outs.
Waldrep left to a rousing standing ovation and hugs from his teammates.
"He was outstanding,'' O'Sullivan said. "I mean, his line and the performance speak for itself."
The Gators rushed from the dugout to celebrate when Neely retired Talmadge LeCroy on a pop-out to second baseman Cade Kurland for the final out. As they began to rise from the ensuing dogpile, a stream of teammates found Hurston to pay respect to the star of the day.
Catcher BT Riopelle lifted him into the air. The crowd chanted O-ma-ha, O-ma-ha, O-ma-ha.
The scene was precisely the kind Waldrep envisioned when he opted to transfer to Florida for what he hoped would be a chance to play in the CWS.
"This whole experience has been awesome,'' Waldrep said. " It means the world to me to be able to pitch in this environment, to help these guys. And I couldn't have done it without a single one of them, from the coaches all the way down to the bullpen catchers and the managers."
In the afterglow of victory, Waldrep joined O'Sullivan and teammates Riopelle and Josh Rivera for the postgame press conference. The Gators have won five consecutive games since their loss to Texas Tech in the Gainesville Regional put their Omaha dreams on the chopping block.
But their run to Omaha started in an elimination game Sunday against Connecticut. Waldrep started and pitched seven innings, striking out 12. He finished the job Saturday.
In two NCAA Tournament starts, Waldrep has pitched 15 innings, allowed eight hits, walked four and struck out 25.
Cliff Waldrep and the folks from Thomasville remember Hurston doing special stuff for the Thomasville High Bulldogs when he took the mound at the Bryant-Garner Athletic Complex, which he used to call home. They watched him pitch at Southern Miss for a couple of seasons and this season for the Gators. Cliff missed Hurston's start against Tennessee earlier in the season because he had to work, but otherwise, he has seen them all in person.
But Hurston Waldrep's dad never watched anything as special as Saturday's performance.
"No. 1,'' he said. "Absolutely at the top. I can't describe how proud I am of him. A great memory."
He can relive it with those snapshots they took on the field after the game.
