Florida High School Pitcher Loves No-Hitters, Beef O'Brady's

Either Patrick Schuster is really good, or the high school teams in the Tampa-St. Pete area totally suck. At any rate, the Mitchell High hurler now has three consecutive no-hitters.

That unmistakable smell of sulfur in the air is probably Scott Boras lurking nearby.

Schuster t hrew no-hitter No. 3 on Monday against Clearwater Central Catholic, striking out 16. He hit the game's leadoff hitter, and only had two other baserunners, both on infield errors. On April 8 he had 10 strikeouts in a no-hitter against River Ridge, and had 17 Ks on April 3 vs. Land O' Lakes.

"It's great," Schuster said by cell phone from a local Beef O'Brady's, his typical postgame hangout. "I can't think of a more perfect time for this. There were 15-20 scouts there and most of them were bosses of guys watching me. I'm having a blast right now."

Schuster, a left-hander, is headed to the University of Florida. He goes for no-hitter No. 4 on Monday. How is ESPN not televising this?

But before you get too excited, please note that the previous Florida high schooler to throw three straight no hitters — Gonzalez Tate's Ben Webb in 1985 — ended up being drafted by the Pirates, where he never rose above Class AA.

Schuster Unhittable Again [The Suncoast News] Schuster Tosses Third Consecutive No-Hitter [St. Petersburg Times]