FLORIDA PREP’S NO-HIT STREAK ENDS AT FOUR

One pitcher who might eventually help a Major League team is Patrick Schuster. The pitcher from New Port Richey, Florida’s Mitchell High School recently gained national attention by throwing four consecutive no-hitters. However, his amazing streak of hitless innings is over at 28.1 frames after allowing a double to Drew Doty in the third inning of last Tuesday’s playoff game against Gaither High School. Until Doty’s double, Schuster had not allowed a hit since March 24.

In the end, Gaither defeated Mitchell, 9-4, to finish Schuster’s senior season. He was 8-1 with a 1.35 ERA in 25 pitching appearances, giving up just 12 hits and striking out 115 batters in 60 innings on the mound. Schuster has signed a letter of intent with the University of Florida, and is projected to be picked between the second and fourth rounds of next month’s MLB Player Draft.

MLB TO HOST SPRING GAMES WITH EURO NATIONAL SIDES

Major League Baseball teams will play three games apiece against two national teams from Europe during spring training in Florida next March. The Italian National Team is scheduled to play the Washington Nationals, Florida Marlins and New York Mets; while the Dutch National Team is slated to face the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins after playing a contest against the University of South Florida.
The two three-game sets with big league teams are scheduled to take place between March 3 and 5 as both the Italian and Dutch teams prepare for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. While they are considered the two strongest baseball countries in Europe, neither is expected to contend for the WBC title.