Florida heads to College World Series with deepest pitching staff since lone national title

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan sifted through his desk this week in search of decade-old notebooks from previous trips to the College World Series.

The pages contain countless reminders about how to handle days, maybe even weeks, in Omaha, Nebraska. Build in downtime. Make sure everyone has fun. Gather the team together at the end of each night.

Solid tips, for sure. But the most important pointer didn’t need to be jotted down anywhere: bring pitching, lots of pitching. It shouldn’t be an issue for Sully and the Gators this time around.

Second-seeded Florida (50-15) has its most talented collection of arms since winning the program’s lone national title in 2017, a staff so deep that O’Sullivan could face daunting decisions about when to use standout sophomore Jac Caglianone and highly touted freshman Cade Fisher.

“There’s no perfect or complete team. Everybody’s got strengths, everybody’s got weaknesses,” O’Sullivan said. “We had to work awfully hard to figure out our bullpen and get our starting pitching going.

“Certainly, we’re pitching at a high level at the right time.”

It’s been nearly flawless the last two weeks, raising outside expectations and making the Gators one of the favorites to reach the best-of-three championship series. Florida opens bracket play against No. 7 seed Virginia (50-13) on Friday night.

Fourth-year junior and ace Brandon Sproat (8-3, 4.69 ERA) will get the ball to start against the Cavaliers. He’s pitched at least six innings in four of his last five starts, giving the Gators a chance almost every time out.

No. 2 starter Hurston Waldrep (9-3, 4.15 ERA) might be even better. Florida has won Waldrep’s last five starts, including consecutive gems against Connecticut and South Carolina in NCAA play. The Southern Miss transfer, a junior expected to be a first-round pick in next month’s MLB draft, struck out 12 in seven innings against the Huskies and fanned a career-high 13 in eight innings against the Gamecocks.

“That was the best stuff he’s had all year,” catcher BT Riopelle said. “He put his complete arsenal on display from pitch one. That kid is going to make a lot of money, but hopefully he can make himself some more money in Omaha.”

Sproat and Waldrep give Florida as good a 1-2 tandem as anyone remaining in NCAA play. But what makes this team better than most during O’Sullivan’s 16 seasons in Gainesville is its depth on the mound.

Caglianone (7-3), one of the best two-way players in the country, threw six shutout innings in regional play. Brandon Neely, a weekend starter last season who reluctantly agreed to take on the closer role this year, was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection thanks to 13 saves and 64 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings.

“When I first approached him about closing, he really wanted no part of it,” O’Sullivan said. “But I promised him one thing. I said, ‘You came in as a starter and you’re going to leave this program as a starter.’ So I’m going to move him back to the starting rotation next year.”

Left-hander Philip Abner (3-0) and righty Ryan Slater (10-1) have become dependable relievers, and Fisher (6-0) has been as good as anyone down the stretch. He’s allowed one earned run since the end of April, and O’Sullivan is confident he can seamlessly slide into the rotation if Caglianone is needed in relief.

“From a pure ability standpoint, I’ve got three starters that have mid-90s stuff or better with good secondary pitches,” he said. “That’s why I never panicked. We did not have one weekend really until the SEC Tournament that all three starters pitched up to their capability. … That the most encouraging thing about the whole thing.

“I knew at some point we were going to get it all figured out.”

The Gators have of late, allowing 12 earned runs in seven NCAA Tournament games. Combine that with an offense that has hit 129 home runs this season, including a school-record 31 by Caglianone, and beating these Gators in any ballpark should be considered a formidable feat.

Florida’s 2017 squad was much more one-dimensional. Led by MLB-bound right-handers Alex Faedo, Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar, the Gators allowed five runs in five victories in Omaha — dominant pitching that helped hide offensive woes.

O’Sullivan pored over his notes from that one, his seventh trip to Omaha with the Gators. No. 8 has a chance to be equally great because O'Sullivan has pitching prowess to go along with an offense that ranks fourth in the nation in homers (129) and 11th in runs scored (521).

“We have a lot of confidence in this team,” shortstop Josh Rivera said. "We know that if we play our brand of baseball, it’s going to be a tough time for anybody.”