Former Flyer Pitcher Tosses No Hitter

DUNEDIN, FL – Loosen Up.

Matt Loosen, a right-handed pitcher for the Chicago Cubs minor league advanced-A affiliate Daytona Cubs, accomplished one of the rare pitching feats in baseball Monday night when he threw a no-hitter against the Dunedin Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

"I felt really good from the start," Loosen, a Mineola native, said in an interview with MiLB.com of the 7-0 win. "Things kind of flowed together from there and [Yaniel Cabezas] did a great job behind the plate. It's feels great!"

Loosen, a graduate of Chaminade High School, played shortstop and third base as well as strode atop the hill for the Flyers as a captain, helping lead the team to a title in 2007 as a senior. He was named 2007 Long Island “Player of the Year” and “Pitcher of the Year” and all-area after leading the league with 9-0 record, 0.61 ERA and strikeouts.

He attended Jacksonville University where he majored in business.

In 36 innings pitched this season, Loosen, a righty, has a 3-2 season record with a 2.25 ERA. However, over his last four starts of 27 innings of work, he has been 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA, allowing a run on nine hits, with five walks and 31 strike outs. He was named Florida State League Pitcher of the Week on June 24. He threw 106 pitches to obtain the no-hitter.

The no-hitter is the first one for Daytona since Aug. 24, 1996 where three pitchers were used for the combined no-hit accomplishment.

Loosen had nine K's but his perfect bid ended when he walked two batters.

"Getting those runs was huge," Loosen said of his team scoring the runs in the first three innings. "Especially with the heat out here today, it kept me in the dugout for a little longer and helped me get rest. Early-on, I walked a couple guys so the runs helped me concentrate on pounding the zone with fastballs and that made things a lot easier."