CHICAGO – Former UIC pitcher Mitchell Schulewitz became the eighth member of the 2017 Flames to enter professional baseball, and the seventh join a Major League Baseball organization in the last three weeks, when he signed a contract with the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, July 2.
 
Schulewitz was a senior standout in the bullpen for the Flames this spring. He came on in relief in 20 games and posted a record of 3-1 with two saves and a 2.38 ERA in 22.2 innings of work. His three victories in relief tied teammate Connor Ryan for the most such wins on the roster in 2017. The Mundelein, Ill., native averaged 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings and was called upon in four of UIC's 11 shutout victories. Opponents batted only .200 against the sidewinding right-hander. He surrendered only six earned runs all season and began the campaign with 11 consecutive scoreless appearances between his debut on March 3 and April 8.
 
The UIC graduate was an integral member of a pitching staff that posted the second-best ERA in the NCAA in 2017. The mark of 2.65 was the best since 2003 and the lowest in program history. The Flames also ranked second nationally in hits allowed per nine innings with 7.0 and WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched) at 1.11. UIC's 11 shutouts were the most in program history and third-most in the country this spring.
 
Primarily utilized as a reliever, Schulewitz appeared in 83 games from 2014-17 with only eight starts, all of which came as a junior in 2016. His 83 appearances rank him tied with Eric Wyman (2008-11) for third on UIC's all-time list. He had a career record of 10-15 with five saves and a 4.13 ERA in those games. He threw 152.2 innings with 136 strikeouts and only 55 walks.
 
Six of Schulewitz's teammates were selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Ryan was the first Flame off the board, going to the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth round. Rob Calabrese also went on day two, going in round 10 to the San Francisco Giants. Mickey McDonald (Oakland Athletics), David Cronin (Chicago White Sox), Jake Dahlberg (St. Louis Cardinals) and Cody Bohanek (Houston Astros) were chosen during the final day of the draft earlier this month. Last week Ricardo Ramirez inked an agreement with the Traverse City Beach Bums of the independent Frontier League.