CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Atlantic Shores' Patrick Dudley always messed around on the diamond with throwing and hitting from both sides going back to his youth baseball days. Little did he know, he was about to pull off a rare feat. "I expected a no", he said. "But when he said yes, I was kind of surprised". The freshman is talking about Seahawks head coach, Phil Kojack. "It was my idea. It really was."
So while Atlantic Shores was leading big over Broadwater Academy recently, Kojack asked the Vikings opposing coaches if it was ok for Dudley, who normally throws left and hits right, to be able to switch hit and pitch from both sides.
Kojack then told Dudley, "There's gonna come a day when you're going to be on a short list of people that have been put in a game righthanded and lefthanded", he said. "And I said oh by the way, imagine if you also switch hit in the same game." Dudley then jumped at the opportunity. "So I hit left and somehow I got a hit on the infield and beat it out and I was like why not throw righthanded. Let's make history."
Dudley isn't one your average freshmen. He ranks in the top ten of pitchers in his class of 2025 and has already committed to play at one college baseball's powerhouses in the University of South Carolina. For now, he feels he's got something checked off his baseball bucket list. "I think I'll look back at it and say, that's pretty cool".