Gators Baseball Remains Undefeated in Omaha

The Gators defeated Oral Roberts 5-4 on Sunday to remain in the College World Series winners’ bracket. Florida improves to 2-0 in Omaha.

Gators, 2-0 in Omaha! #MCWS x @GatorsBB pic.twitter.com/ZuYtjZxutD

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 19, 2023

Waldrep Shoves

In his third NCAA Tournament outing, Gators starter Hurston Waldrep tossed six innings, giving up one run, seven hits and three walks. Waldrep struck out 12 and earned his 10th win of the season. Waldrep now has a 3-0 record and 0.86 ERA in the NCAA Tournament. Throughout his three tournament starts, he pitched 21 innings, surrendering 15 hits and two runs, walking seven and striking out 37.

37 Ks in three NCAAT starts 💪

6.0 IP
7 H
1 ER
3 BB
12 K pic.twitter.com/dxtHLbb4xu

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 19, 2023

In his dominant performance, Waldrep has become the fourth-ever Gators pitcher to strike out double-digit batters at the College World Series. He joins Gator Greats such as Alex Faedo, Jackson Kowar and Brady Singer. Additionally, Waldrep’s 12 K is tied with Singer for the second-best by a Florida pitcher in the College World Series.

Gators Remain on Top

The Gator offense struck first. Ty Evans would break open the scoring with a two-out, two-run shot to right center field. The home run marked his second of the postseason in as many at-bats. In doing so, Evans becomes the first-ever Gator to homer in both of their first two games in the College World Series.

TYBO DOES IT AGAIN!!

A Ty Evans two-out, two-run shot to RCF breaks open the scoring. It’s his second postseason home run in as many at-bats, making Evans the first-ever #Gator to homer in both of the first two games in the #CollegeWorldSeries.

T2 | #Gators 2-0 ORU pic.twitter.com/OWoZY1zEKN

— Ellie Shreve (@ellie_shreve) June 18, 2023

Following an Oral Roberts run on a bases-loaded two-out grounder, Wyatt Langford would receive a home run call before being overturned and ruled foul. Josh Rivera would seek revenge by going deep to left. His 18th home run of the season would give Florida a 3-1 advantage over Oral Roberts in the top of the fourth. Luke Heyman would follow up by blasting a two-run bomb to make it a 5-1 lead for the Gators.

Luke Heyman smokes his 12th HR of the season on a two-run shot to left. Make that two homers in the fourth for the #Gators, who are in control with a 5-1 lead over Oral Roberts. pic.twitter.com/ZrP7itiWZX

— Ellie Shreve (@ellie_shreve) June 19, 2023

Golden Eagles Rally Late

Sunday night’s game saw yet another dramatic finish for Gators baseball. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the ninth. With the bases loaded and the game-tying run on third base, Florida reliever Cade Fisher sat down ORU’s Jacob Goodman on a fly ball to center to end the game.

Fisher took over on the mound in the bottom of the eighth after the umpires forced Florida to replace closer Brandon Neely due to one-too-many mound visits.

#Gators HC Kevin O’Sullivan says he apologized to the team about the mound visit mistake and they had his back. “Cade was put in a really tough position. He should feel really good about himself. I’m fairly hard on myself, but I’ll wake up tomorrow morning and I’m going to get… pic.twitter.com/jRVde0eize

— Ellie Shreve (@ellie_shreve) June 19, 2023

Up Next

The Gators remain confident after winning two-straight, however they understand in the game of baseball no matchup can be overlooked. Florida will next play the winner of Tuesday’s elimination game between TCU and Oral Roberts. The national semifinals will take place on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.