THOMASVILLE — Former Thomasville pitcher Hurston Waldrep was lights out against South Carolina as Florida took down South Carolina in two games in the Gainesville Super Regional, punching their ticket to the College World Series.

Waldrep was an excellent pitcher in high school for the Bulldogs.

“From the moment I saw him throw a ball, I knew he was different,” said Thomasville head baseball coach Erik McDougald.

Waldrep was ranked as the fourteenth best right-handed pitcher in Georgia in 2020 by Perfect Game and received pitcher of the year and first team accolades in Region-1 AA. He was a AA All-State selection by the Georgia Dugout Preview Magazine and represented team Georgia in the Junior Sunbelt Classic. He was also an accomplished kicker and punter for the Thomasville football team

After finishing high school, Waldrep played baseball for the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss for two seasons, appearing in the NCAA tournament in a super regional against eventual CWS champion Ole Miss last year. He then moved to Florida where he has been dominant.

This season, in the SEC, Waldrep is third in innings pitched with 93.1, second in strike outs with 142, and fourth in batters struck out looking with 31. He has secured nine wins for the Gators, tied for third in the SEC with Tennessee’s Drew Beam. Waldrep has an ERA of 4.15, a opposing batting average of .218, and has allowed zero triples on the season.

Behind a solid bullpen and their intimidating presence at the plate, the Gators stand tall as the number two ranked team in the country.

In the post-season, Waldrep has pitched well for Florida. He pitched eight innings in the Gators 4-0 win over Uconn in the regional. In that game he had 13 strike outs and allowed zero runs on just three hits.

He continued his success on Saturday in game two vs. the Gamecocks. He allowed one run on five hits against South Carolina, striking out 12 batters in seven innings as the Gators punched their ticket to Omaha. They won 8-2.

As for what this means for the Bulldogs, many of the seniors on the Thomasville baseball team got to play with Waldrep as freshman and many players remember watching him dominate the high school game. Being able to see a former Bulldog on one of the best college teams in the nation playing for a national championship is serious motivation for this Bulldog squad. To know that he played on the same field as they do and sat in the same desks they do; it’s something that inspires dreams.

Florida will start their run in Omaha on June 16 when they face eleven ranked Virginia.