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By Dennis Healy and Trevor Brown
Co-Director of Scouting

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New England Insider: No-Hit Profile - Nathan Florence

Name: Nathan Florence
Position: RHP
School: Minnechaug
Class: 2016
Ranked: 76th in New England's 2016 class

Scouting Report (from winter of 2014: 6-foot-1, 165-pound prospect. Nathan is a very good prospect with a projectable body. He shows serious life on his current low-80s fastball. The ball jumps out of his hand and his long arms lead you to believe he could be a high level guy down the road. Nathan's changeup has solid rotation with some good action to it at 77 mph. Nathan's breaking ball is currently a bit soft but the spin is there and should improve while sitting in the upper-60s.

Nathan was kind enough to do a Q & A for us about the no-hitter he threw.

PBR: Do you have a ritual you do prior to starting a game?
Nathan: I like to listen to country music before the game, usually on the bus ride, because it gets me relaxed.

PBR:  What is your pregame routine and how did you warm up in the bullpen?
Nathan: I go through my whole warm up with my catcher by my side and we start off with a jog to centerfield and back. Then I go into dynamic stretching focusing on the lower half, then transition into static where I loosen up my upper body. When stretching is done my catcher and I play long toss until I feel ready to warm up in the pen. Once I’m in the pen I will start in the wind-up with 4-seam fastballs middle and out, then two-seams in, then curveballs for a strike, and lastly my changeup. I repeat that sequence from the stretch and finish with a few fastballs from the windup until I feel ready to go.

PBR: Were there any close calls with hits or errors during the game?
Nathan: There were no close calls. I had 16 strikeouts so only five balls were put into play. They were routine plays that my team fielded cleanly.

PBR: What inning did you realize your stuff was plus that day?
Nathan: After the first inning, I realized my stuff was on. I started with a 1-2-3, 10 pitch inning and 8 of those pitches were strikes. I noticed guys were swinging and missing and their timing was off.

PBR: Did you talk about it in the dugout as the game progressed?
Nathan:As the game went on, people started talking to me less and less. I sat alone towards the end of the dugout and nobody spoke of the no-hitter until the game was over.

PBR: What was working specifically that day, fastball or breaking ball, etc..?
Nathan: I had really good control of my fastball and it felt strong coming out of my hand. There was some good movement on it as well.

PBR: What words can you use to describe how you felt once you got the last out?
Nathan: I was excited, relieved, and proud. It was an awesome feeling to complete a no-hitter combined with my career high 16 strikeouts. It was something I will never forget.