Former Dunwoody High Pitcher Sparking Florida in College World Series

Nothing pitcher Hudson Randall does surprises former Dunwoody High baseball coach Tom Bass.

When the sophomore on Saturday rebounded from a three-run deficit to notch University of Florida's 8-4 win over Texas in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., his former Wildcats coach beamed with pride.

"He doesn't lose his cool and is very confident," Bass said. "He believes in himself, and that game showed what he's made of.

"It's been a treat to watch him go from a star high school player to an upper-echelon (Southeastern Conference) player pitching in the World Series as a sophomore. It's a true testament to kid he is."

Bass sensed Randall had such potential when the lanky right-hander first began playing for Bass' Atlanta Panthers travel team at age 13, long before helping Dunwoody win a Class AAA championship as a sophomore. By Randall's senior season at Dunwoody, when he became an all-state player and DeKalb County Pitcher of the Year, Bass was more convinced than ever.

"He really hit his stride (when he went 10-1 with a 1.00 ERA) as a junior," Bass said.

Randall's career at Dunwoody was one any player would envy. From helping the Wildcats finish 30-5 as a freshman, to batting .333 with a .545 on-base percentage and propelling Dunwoody to 34-4 as a sophomore, to that catapulting junior season, Randall made himself indispensable as a Wildcat. His 21-2 career pitching record still has Dunwoody abuzz.

Likewise, his first two seasons at Florida have made him a household name there. As the No. 2-ranked Gators (52-17) approach Friday's 2 p.m. World Series game against North Carolina or Vanderbilt, Randall is the team's winningest pitcher at 11-3 with its fourth-best ERA of 2.24. He's projected to start Monday's first game of the best-of-three championship series, or pitch Saturday if the Gators lose Friday and need to stave off double elimination.

"I'm feeling pretty good," Randall said. "I'm feeling pretty confident in myself."

Randall wasn't daunted by the record crowd of 25,551 at Omaha's TD Ameritrade Park for Saturday's World Series opener against Texas. He'd been on that stage before, having shouldered the 8-5 season-ending loss to Florida State in last season's two-and-out showing there.

This year, Randall took the mound with the steely nerves for which he's become known.

"There were a lot of people, but once you're out there, it wasn't too loud and wasn't overwhelming," he said. "It kind of helped being here last year and getting my feet wet.

"It was a little easier this go-around," he added. "I love all the excitement and all the people in the stands watching."

Once two errors led to unearned runs and a 3-0 deficit in the third inning, Randall hunkered down and retired 13 consecutive batters before being relieved in the seventh. He said he never felt panicked while striking out five and allowing five hits through 6 2/3 innings.

"My confidence grew and I was able to just attack the hitters more,” he told GatorCountry.com. “I knew we could score at any time (and) was just trying to make quick innings out there, go one, two, three, get us back into the dugout to score more runs."

Texas coach Augie Garrido was impressed by Randall's tenacity, especially once behind.

"Once (Randall) got the lead back, he settled down and became more competitive," Garrido reportedly said. "He really gained momentum and confidence and took charge of the game."

Since Tuesday's 3-1 victory over Vanderbilt in a game started Monday and finished Tuesday because of bad weather, Randall feels anything possible for Florida. The Gators have won nine of their last 10.

"We're feeling really confident in ourselves right now," he said. "We've got to lose twice not to advance to championship series. We don't want to get laxidasical, though, and be content with ourselves."