EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley baseball team learned on Thursday that Sam Street, who pitched for the program from 2013-14, is part of Australia's Designated Pitcher Pool (DPP) for the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
 
Although Street will not be active during the first round, he is one of nine pitchers on Australia's DPP. Only two pitchers from a team's DPP can be active per round and they are only eligible to be replaced between rounds. During the first round, Australia will use Warwick Saupold of the Detroit Tigers and Lachlan Wells of Class A Cedar Rapids, the Midwest League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Should Australia advance, it can choose to replace either or both of those pitchers with any one of the remaining seven players, including Street, on the DPP. Once a player on the DPP is removed from the active roster, he cannot return during a later round. The WBC has three rounds, meaning up to six of the nine players on the DPP could see action.
 
Australia is part of Pool B and opens the WBC against host Japan on March 8 at 4 a.m. CST at Tokyo Dome. Australia will also face China on March 9 at 4 a.m. before taking on Cuba on March 9 at 9 p.m. If necessary, there will be a tiebreaker game on March 11 at 4 a.m. The top two teams from Pool A, which includes Israel, Korea, Chinese Taipei and The Netherlands, will advance to the second round, also known as Pool E, from March 11-16 at Tokyo Dome. The top two teams from Pool E will advance to the championship round at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., March 20-22.
 
A 16^th round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2014 MLB Draft, Street pitched the Bradenton Marauders, the advanced-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, to the Florida State League Championship by going 3-2 with one save and a 2.26 ERA last season. In 27 relief appearances, Street pitched 55.2 innings, striking out 38 while scattering 46 hits and 23 walks. Opponents hit .225 against him.
 
Street played for the Western Virginia Power (South Atlantic League, Class A) in 2015, going 3-1 with six saves and a 2.10 ERA. In 34 relief appearances, Street pitched 85.2 innings, striking out 72 while walking 13 and allowing 83 hits for a WHIP of 1.12 and opponents average of .252.
 
Street played for the Jamestown Jammers (New York-Penn League, Class A-) in 2014, earning NYPL All-Star honors after going 1-1 with five saves and 0.98 ERA. In 27.2 innings, he struck out 21 while allowing just 13 hits and four walks for a 0.61 WHIP. He held opponents to a .135 batting average.
 
Shortly after the 2014 season ended, Street was invited to take part in the Pirates' instructional league in Bradenton, Fla. Street went on to pitch for Team Australia in the inaugural U21 Baseball World Cup, pitching a perfect inning for a hold against Japan.
 
Street racked up the honors as a senior in 2014, as he was a member of the Louisville Slugger All-American Second Team and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-American Third Team, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Pitcher of the Year and College Sports Madness WAC Pitcher of the Year, an All-WAC First Team selection, a four-time WAC Pitcher of the Week and one-time College Sports Madness WAC Player of the Week award honoree, the Madness Preseason WAC Pitcher of the Year and a member of the Madness Preseason All-WAC First Team.
 
Street led the NCAA in complete games (11). Additionally, he ranked fifth in wins (12), 42^nd in WHIP (0.997), 45^th in ERA (1.81), 57^th in strikeouts (91), 94^th in games started (15), 112^th in the walks allowed per nine innings (1.74), 118^th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.24), and 125^th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.64).
 
The WAC Pitching Triple Crown winner, Street led the WAC in every major pitching category, including wins, ERA, strikeouts, complete games, WHIP, hits allowed per nine innings, walks allowed per nine innings, opponents batting average (.217), swinging strikeouts (61), looking strikeouts (30), strikeout-to-walk ratio, innings pitched (129.1) and innings per game (8.62). He became the first WAC Pitching Triple Crown winner since 2011, and just the second in the last nine years.
 
Street finished the season tied for the sixth most wins in a single season in program history. He also ranked second in innings pitched and tied for ninth in complete games. For his career, Street is tied for fifth in wins (22) while also ranking ninth in strikeouts (195) and innings pitched (244.2), and 11^th in complete games (19).

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