No. 7 Gators Surge Past Bucs to Claim Series
Hurston Waldrep won his Gators debut as Florida scored double-digit runs for the second-straight game to open the campaign for the first time since 2006.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 7 Florida clinched the season-opening series over Charleston Southern with a 16-2 win in front of 6,661 fans at Condron Family Ballpark on Saturday evening.
On a day centered around the premiere of starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), the offense was in fact the story for the second night in a row. BT Riopelle (2-for-4) was at the forefront of the action again, driving in two runs and scoring another. Ty Evans (2-for-3) paced the Gators with four RBI, while Tyler Shelnut (1-for-4) cracked a two-run shot – his first homer as a Gator.
The debut of freshman Cade Kurland (2-for-3) was arguably the most notable of the night. The young second baseman picked up his first-two career hits and finished with one double, three runs scored and one RBI.
For the second time in as many days, the Buccaneers (0-2) struck first by taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. After reaching via a leadoff walk, Casey Asman crossed home on a Bryce Brock single to right field.
The Gators (2-0) got the run back in the bottom half, with Josh Rivera drawing a leadoff walk and advancing all the way to third on a failed pickoff attempt. Riopelle then picked up where he left off last night, tying the game at one run apiece with an RBI single to right.
Florida grabbed a 4-1 lead by adding three more runs in the third. Wyatt Langford drove in the first on a fielding error at third base and Michael Robertson scored the second on a wild pitch. Jac Caglianone capped off the frame with an RBI single to right that plated Langford.
In the fourth, the Orange & Blue opened up the flood gates with a seven-run frame. The big blows came from Evans and Shelnut, with the former producing a two-run single. One batter later, Shelnut unloaded on a two-run homer to left field to make it 11-1.
Brock drove in a second run for Charleston Southern with an RBI groundout in the fifth, but Florida put up a four-spot in the bottom half. Riopelle singled to right field to score Langford, followed by a two-run single to center by Evans. Kurland singled in Dale Thomas for the final run of the night, bringing the score to its final tally of 16-2.
With the game ending after six and a half innings due to the run rule, Waldrep (1-0) picked up his first win as a Gator. The right-hander allowed two earned runs across five innings of work, finishing with two walks and six strikeouts.
Freshmen hurlers Cade Fisher and Yoel Tejeda Jr. both tossed clean innings to close out the game in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. It marked the collegiate debuts for both players.
Buccaneers starting pitcher Ryan Gleason (0-1) was saddled with the loss, lasting 3 1/3 frames with eight runs allowed (five earned) on five hits and four walks. He struck out two.
NOTABLES
* The Gators scored double-digit runs in the first-two games of the season for the first time since 2006 vs. Cincinnati.
* Florida has scored in 11 of 13 innings to open the season.
* Rivera reached base safely in his first six plate appearances of the season before flying out to left-center field in his seventh appearance of the year in the third inning.
* Evans tied his career high with four RBI.
* Waldrep made his first start at Florida, allowing two earned runs across five innings with two walks and six strikeouts.
* Making his career debut, Kurland went 2-for-3 with one double, three runs score and one RBI.
* Fisher and Tejeda both made their collegiate debuts on the mound, with both players producing one-two-three innings.
* Thomas made his Gators debut with a pinch-hit appearance in the sixth inning and picked up a single in his first at bat.
* Under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan Florida improves to 40-7 in season-opening series during his tenure.
* Florida welcome a crowd of 6,661 fans on Saturday.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN On Waldrep's Florida debut…
"It's difficult pitching in the wind, to spin the ball for a strike. I think he settled in after the first couple of hitters. I think he retired eight in a row at some point. He was good. Probably a little amped up kind of like Brandon [Sproat] was last night. Overall, I think he pitched really good."
On the freshmen contributing…
"Cade Fisher has a good chance to be special. I think I've said that before. He throws a ton of strikes. Kind of like Cade Kurland who had a good game, slowed the game down, different than most freshmen. Yoel came in and you see why we're so high on him. He's throwing 96. He did a really nice job, too. When you're talking about Cade Kurland here's a guy that's supposed to be in high school right now. He's got a great demeanor about him. He kind of just slows down the game. He's different."
On Riopelle's impact…
"He's one of our leaders, for sure. He's a vocal leader. You guys have seen him over the last year. He's done a really good job. He made a really good throw to second base today. He's been swinging the bat really good."
FROM RHP HURSTON WALDREP On the emotions of his first Gators game…
"It was awesome. It's great to be here, great to pitch in front of the atmosphere you hear so much about. I got to watch last night. I got to watch Sproat pitch a little bit. No matter how many college games you play, I feel like there's always emotions and the game is filled with emotions. Coming in and seeing what I felt like I had to really dig deep and control myself and focus on the task at hand."
On the transfer process…
"It was obviously a tough decision to enter the portal and go through the whole process, but I couldn't be happier with where I am. This place, this school, the history here, the reputation with producing great pitchers. It was great talking to Kevin O'Sullivan in the meetings we had this summer in the portal and just deciding to commit here and come here it was all a pretty easy process after that."
FROM OF TY EVANS On this year's team…
"I feel like everyone is a lot more as a team. Everyone just wants to win. I feel like everyone is playing aggressive, playing with so much swagger. Everyone is having a lot of fun, so I think it's helping us a lot right now."
On being aggressive…
"It's been a big focus for everyone on our offense. We usually do stuff before practice and during BP. We want try to be as aggressive as possible and put ourselves in positions where we can win game."
UP NEXT
Florida and Charleston Southern meet in the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m., with team posters and magnets available to fans in attendance. Each game of the season-opening set will stream live on SEC Network+.
