Nothing seems to faze this group of Gators freshmen.
After leading No. 4 Florida (43-15) in the regular season, the fresh-faced group that came in as the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation didn’t hesitate to do the same in postseason play as it carried the team past Bethune-Cookman 7-3 in its first game of the Gainesville Regional.
Whether it was on the mound or the batters box, they had an impact.
UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan did not announce a starting pitcher until game time when he decided on Hudson Randall, one of his freshmen hurlers.
Randall didn’t disappoint. He pounded the strike zone and held the Wildcats (35-21) to just one run in 7.1 innings, lowering his ERA to a stellar 1.89 over his last 10 starts.
“(Randall) has been really good every time out,” O’Sullivan said. “The few times he has had a tough outing, he’s always bounced back the next time out. There was no hesitation starting him tonight.”
The right-hander carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and retired 13 of the first 14 hitters he faced as he threw 79 of his 101 pitches for strikes and struck out a career-high 10 batters.
He is the first Gators pitcher to rack up 10 strikeouts since Bryan Augenstein accomplished the feat on May 5, 2007.
“Definitely since it’s the first round of regionals, I would say this is my best outing so far,” Randall said. “The stage that it was set on, I felt like I had to rise to the occasion. I was loving it out there.”
On the offensive side, first-year players contributed on four of UF’s seven runs. Shortstop Nolan Fontana and catcher Mike Zunino, who had not played since May 21 because of a dislocated left thumb, combined for three RBIs in the second to give the Gators an early 4-0 lead.
In the sixth, freshman Austin Maddox scored a run off of a two-run triple from senior center fielder Matt den Dekker which extended the lead to 7-1.
Den Dekker picked up two stolen bases Friday to move into fifth on the school’s all-time career stolen base list.
“(Den Dekker) probably thinks he would be first on the list if he had the green light more often,” O’Sullivan said.
The Gators chased Wildcats starting pitcher Ali Simpson after just 3.2 innings. He struggled with his control as he walked four batters and hit another in the short stint in which he allowed four runs.
“It was a little bit disappointing,” B-CU Mervyl Melendez said. “(Simpson) didn’t really command the zone as we expected him to. He is one that has to throw strikes. If you don’t throw hard, you can’t get away with just throwing the ball down the middle and pitching from behind.”
The victory moves UF into the winner’s bracket to take on Oregon State (32-22) Saturday at 7 p.m. Sophomore pitcher Alex Panteliodis (3.38 ERA) will start for the Gators, while right-hander Sam Gaviglio (4.65 ERA) will be on the mound for the Beavers.
