Gator Country

Florida sophomore pitcher Hudson Randall pitched 6.2 scoreless innings in win against LSU on Saturday. / Gator Country file photo by Tim Casey

University of Florida sophomore right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) was chosen as the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday after clinching No. 1 Florida’s second-ever series victory at No. 5 LSU with 6.2 scoreless innings on Saturday night. The Gators (18-2) took all three games from the Tigers in Baton Rouge for the first time in school history and were the lone team to begin league play with a 3-0 mark.

Randall notched the 1-0 win by scattering eight singles, with two strikeouts and zero walks. The combined shutout with junior Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) and Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) marked the first time that the Tigers had been blanked at the new Alex Box Stadium and only the second time that the Gators held the Bayou Bengals scoreless. Of Randall’s 17 outs, nine were fly-outs and eight were ground-outs.

UF plated the lone run of the contest in the first inning on a double by junior Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) that brought across sophomore Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.), who had led off the game with a walk. After the Tigers countered with two runners in scoring position in the home part of the frame, Randall retired seven-straight hitters.

Later in the game, LSU had lead-off singles in both the fifth and sixth that the righty was able to work around. Since yielding a homer to Mikie Mahtook to open the teams’ second meeting last season, Randall has tossed 14.2 scoreless frames against the Tigers and collected two wins.

Randall is 3-0 in five starts and leads the SEC with a 0.85 earned run average, having yielded three earned runs. He has registered 21 strikeouts, permitted one walk in 31.2 innings and limited opponents to a .212 batting average

Auburn junior infielder Casey McElroy was tabbed as the SEC Player of the Week, while Kentucky infielder/outfielder J.T. Riddle was the league’s Freshman of the Week.

The Gators host Winthrop (9-9/2-1 Big South) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the opener of a two-game series at McKethan Stadium and then welcome defending national champion No. 4 South Carolina (14-4/2-1 SEC) to town for three games starting Friday at 7 p.m.

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