DUNLAP, Tenn. - Having seen his older brother succeed at every level of baseball all the way to the major leagues, Collin Hudson knows how special the path to "The Show" has been.
"I remember when I was in fifth or sixth grade watching Dakota throw in front of 20 or more major league scouts," the Sequatchie County senior standout said. "I didn't understand it then, but now I know how big of a deal and crazy it was."
Dakota Hudson's rise after his high school career with the Indians has been spectacular.
He was an All-American his junior season at Mississippi State and then made all-star teams as a professional at the Double-A and Triple-A levels the next two years, 2017 and 2018. In the second half of last season, the former first-round draft pick was given a call to the big leagues.
Dakota, who has a biting sinker that has reached as high as 96 mph and a darting slider, made an instant impact with the St. Louis Cardinals. In his MLB debut on July 28, 2018, he received a standing ovation from his home crowd after striking out the Chicago Cubs' Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ in a perfect seventh inning.
The standout rookie went on to post a 4-1 record with a 2.63 ERA in 26 appearances out of the bullpen last season.
Dakota has been a part of the St. Louis rotation this year and won two straight starts against the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds before losing 2-1 to the Washington Nationals last Thursday. One of the Nationals' runs was unearned, and Dakota struck out seven batters and allowed only four hits in six innings. He also picked up his first MLB save against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 3.
While he is the younger brother of an impressive major league pitcher, that has not caused Collin to feel pressure walking the hallways at school or taking the mound for the Indians.
"Dakota has definitely set the tone for me and motivated me to work hard," Collin said. "He wants me to be great and even better than he was. I don't feel like I am living in his shadow or anything, because we talk about everything. He helps me, and I even help him sometimes if he needs it and is down on himself.
"We pick each other back up. We are a very tight-knit family."
Stellar pitching has led Sequatchie County (20-9-1) to its most wins since 2012, and after having to sit out last season due to a shoulder injury, Collin has returned to a dominant form. The Roane State signee has struck out 88 batters and walked only 12 in 63 innings this year, when he is 9-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
Collin fanned 15 batters in a complete-game three-hitter to top Marion County 3-2 Friday night. On Monday, the Indians will look to secure a trip to the District 7-AA championship game as they are up one game in a best-of-three series with the Warriors.
"Our pitching staff has a goal to start every hitter at least 1-2 in the count or get a quick out," said Collin, who throws in the mid to high 80s with movement. "There's nothing better than getting the batter 0-2 and being able to throw your best stuff and trying to make him look silly."
Against district competition, Sequatchie County has allowed 27 runs in 12 games, with eight of those runs coming in its only league loss.
The Indians' No. 2 starter, junior Austin Mitchell, has a 1.63 ERA, 57 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 47 1/3 innings. Mitchell leads the team with a .429 batting average, and Collin sits at .380.
"Collin and Austin get ahead in the count with two strikes around 80 percent of the time," Sequatchie coach Derrin Easterly said. "You don't see a lot of hard-hit balls against either one of them. They put hitters in a bind. Their mentality is to go out and fight and win the battle every time."
With a strong defense behind them and a .325 team batting average, which includes a .405 mark from sophomore Bodie Terry, there is plenty of reason to believe a long postseason run is possible.
"Our goal is to get to Murfreesboro (for the state tournament)," Mitchell said. "It's been that way since day one, and we have the guys to do it. It's been an all-around team effort. This past offseason we all worked extremely hard and brought ourselves to a level where we can be strong in every area of the game."
Sequatchie County has not advanced to a state tournament since 1996.
"It's amazing to see how the program has flipped around since my first two years," Collin said. "We are ready to shock some people and get our names out there. I want to help take this program to a place it hasn't been in a long time."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.