Schuster 4th straight no-hitter

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. -- A Florida high school pitcher tossed his fourth consecutive no-hitter.

Mitchell High senior Patrick Schuster did it Monday night on his home field at the suburban school northwest of Tampa.

The lanky left-hander struck out 17 to help his team beat rival Pasco High 5-0 in front of a full house of several hundred spectators.

"I never thought this would happen," he said. "I'm just having so much [fun] right now."

Schuster's streak began April 3. He's piled up 60 strikeouts in the four games, helping Mitchell to a 19-3 record. He's 7-0 on the season.

He said he was trying not to think about the streak, but late in the game he asked his outfielders to take a few steps because he didn't want to give up a bloop hit.

Mitchell coach Scot Wilcox called the performance "vintage Schuster."

"I'll tell you what, he's got command of every single pitch," Wilcox said. "His curveball, his slider, his change-up, he was just spotting it nicely. He was keeping their hitters off balance."

Schuster said the streak has been harder on his mother, Sharon, than it's been on him.

"I've got the confidence, and she's over there biting her nails and stuff," he said. "I'm having fun with it and she's nervous. She's probably going to make me cry as soon as I see her."

Schuster, whose fastball tops 90 mph, has signed to play at the University of Florida next year but hasn't ruled out going straight to professional baseball.

The record for consecutive no-hitters in high school baseball is six.


Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press