By SCOTT CARTER
GatorZone.com Senior Writer
March 5, 2011
The Hudson Randall Fan Club stood above the Gators' dugout as Randall walked toward the clubhouse shortly after talking with reporters Saturday afternoon.
The small group of family members began cheering and yelling his name.
Randall walked over and chatted for a couple of minutes as his teammates did interviews on the field. While Bryson Smith got the game-winning hit and reliever Anthony DeSclafani pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory, Randall had the most impressive performance in Florida's 1-0 win Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.
The sophomore right-hander from Atlanta pitched seven shutout innings, striking out five and walking none. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth until Hurricanes lead-off hitter Dale Carey lined a single to center field. After that, Randall retired the next six batters and gave way to DeSclafani after 86 pitches, 58 of them strikes.
It was just another ho-hum performance from the redheaded starter sandwiched between Brian Johnson and Karsten Whitson in the Gators' weekend rotation. Johnson and Whitson are power pitchers.
Randall delivers his medicine in different doses, using an assortment of off-speed pitches mixed with a solid fastball to keep hitters guessing. Randall said his slider was working especially well on Saturday as he retired 21 of the 23 batters he faced.
The only Miami player to reach base against Randall was Carey, who was hit by a pitch in the third and who later singled.
"I got into a groove and everything was working for me," said Randall, who teamed with DeSclafani to throw the Gators' first one-hitter since May 2002. "My arm felt great. I feel like I'm in the swing of things, third start."
Randall said he tried to keep his mind off a potential no-hitter when he was on the mound.
"I try not to think about those things when I'm out there playing," he said. "But once I was done, I was kind of mad about it. It was in the back of my mind for sure."
Randall was so sharp that Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan didn't hesitate to call for an off-speed pitch even when Randall was behind in the count, which wasn't often. Randall's outing is the latest for a rotation that has been dominant in the season's first 10 games.
The trio of Johnson, Randall and Whitson has now made eight starts, pitching 45.1 innings. They have allowed just 24 hits and three runs. They have struck out 49 and walked four.
"We are definitely aware [of our start], but we've got to keep the competitive edge during practice," Randall said. "It's looking good so far."
Yes it is. None more than on Saturday when Randall pitched perhaps the Gators' best game of the season. And that's saying something considering this group.
"It was one of those days where Hudson needed to match him pitch for pitch, because their pitcher [E.J. Encinosa] did an outstanding job," O'Sullivan said. "It was one of those games that you kind of had a feeling midway through it that it might come down to a run or two at the end.
"Hudson is very, very consistent. You kind of know what you are going to get."
