CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR)- Baseball has taken Patrick Dudley plenty of places, but he's never had the opportunity to try out for a national team before. He'll be able to cross that off his list this week.
Dudley will travel to Cary, North Carolina, this week for Team USA U-18 Training Camp. He's one of 84 high school players from across the country who will be competing for 20 roster spots on the squad, which will take part in the World Cup Americas Qualifier in Panama next month.
"I was pretty stoked about it," Dudley said of getting the training camp invitation. "I've been working towards that this summer, so definitely a cool goal to achieve."
The rising senior burst onto the scene and caught eyes before even taking the field for a high school game. He verbally committed to South Carolina prior to his freshman season and has been working to get better ever since then. His talent was evident to his coaches and others from very early on, but he's been working to improve and fine-tune as his high school career has progressed.
"Back then, I was a lot more scared to be in the spotlight and compete with the other top guys," he said of his freshman year. "Now I realize I'm one of those guys. I can compete with anybody."
He'll get that chance this week, going up against the best in the nation for his first chance at a national team roster. Dudley estimates that there will be about 25-30 pitchers competing for spots on the squad and he's excited to see what he can do.
"It'll be a lot of fun just competing with them," he predicted. "I compete against them on the summer circuit, but it's going to be the best of the best. I'll know a good amount of people there and that'll be good, but I'm really excited to compete and get after it."
Dudley has been sharpening his skills. He says he's been working on keeping his front side closed and is looking forward to showcasing his slider, which he considers his "put-away pitch" that sets him apart, and if all goes well, he hopes to be suiting up in the red, white and blue in Central America.
"It would be awesome," he said. "I would be absolutely stoked and be able to put on the stars and stripes and represent our country, so that would be awesome."
Team USA U-18 Training Camp runs Wednesday through Sunday. Rosters will be announced Monday and the 18U National Team will head to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier from August 2-11 in Panama City, Panama.
