Hudson Randall can't remember what it's like to pitch against hitters other than his teammates.
For the better part of the past five months, No. 1 Florida's Friday night starter has squared off against the likes of Daniel Pigott, Preston Tucker and Mike Zunino in intrasquad scrimmages.
Replacing Florida's powerful lineup tonight at 7 will be a complete contrast, a No. 25 Cal State Fullerton team that makes up for a lack of power with speed and a knack for taking chances on the basepaths.
Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan has taken note and began preparing his team for a style typically not seen at McKethan Stadium.
"Sully has been implementing it in the scrimmages so far, especially in the last three or four," Randall said.
"He's been hitting-and-running a lot of the guys and getting us ready for it."
The Titans will try to keep UF's pitchers and infielders as busy as possible.
In 2011, Cal State Fullerton was either first or second in the Big West Conference in nearly every major offensive statistic catering to the small-ball approach of West Coast baseball.
The Titans had a team on-base percentage of .375, allowing them to get runners in position to pull off their ultimate game plan. Fullerton led the Big West in sacrifice bunts (79), sacrifice flies (32) and steals (98), attempting to swipe 59 more bases than power-savvy Florida.
'We need to focus on the leadoff guy of every inning," Zunino said. "Obviously, if we can get them out and they can't get on, then they can't do the stuff they want to do."
The Titans' baserunning masks a serious power deficiency; Zunino's 19 home runs during his sophomore campaign were two more than the entire Cal State Fullerton team had all season. The Gators finished last season ranked No. 5 in the nation in home runs with 69, while the Titans stumbled into the picture at No. 231.
Already an aggressive pitcher who shoots for early contact, the lack of pop in Cal State Fullerton's lineup has Randall excited to attack.
"If there's not a lot of power guys, you're not really worried about them running into a fastball and driving it out of the park," he said.
"I'm going to try to knock them out of their element, and they're going to try to do the same thing."
Bad contact is what Randall and an infield that could likely start freshmen at second base and third base tonight is hoping for.
The Titans were able to reel off 24 triples in 2011 off pitchers who approached the four-time national champions with little respect for power. Every regular starter for Fullerton had at least one triple last season, and designated hitter Tyler Pill is the only one of the Titans' five players who hit .313 or better last season not to return.
"We just have to pitch to contact and trust our defense," Zunino said.
"We've got to take chances pounding the strike zone and hopefully get some good outs, some early outs and keep our pitch count low."
Florida right-handed pitcher Hudson Randall, who will start tonight's game against Cal State Fullerton, said he will be taking an aggressive approach against the small-ball prone Titans.
