Mac Schnur, Butler grad and Fairmont State reliever, pitches Iron Bucks to victory
Mac Schnur’s goal this summer is to pitch a lot of innings.
He tossed plenty of a pitcher’s favorite type of inning — scoreless — in leading the Butler Iron Bucks to a 4-2 Tri-State Collegiate Baseball League victory over Kiski Valley Tuesday night at Michelle Krill Field at historic Pullman Park.
The Butler graduate — now a relief pitcher at Fairmont State University — threw 84 pitches in seven scoreless frames, striking out nine and walking nobody. He allowed two hits, hit a batter, and retired the last 13 hitters he faced.
Schnur left the game with a 2-0 lead.
“That’s the best game he’s pitched for us this year,” Iron Bucks manager Leo Piccini said. “He was moving the ball around and had great command. He ovecame a bit of a rough start and really settled in.”
The Iron Bucks (7-3) broke a scoreless tie in the fourth. Brady Gavula and Raymond Stierer began the inning with Butler’s first two hits of the night. Gavula scored on Dustin Strom’s infield out.
With two outs in the sixth, Stierer reached on a two-base infield error. Strom’s single to left plated him and gave the Iron Bucks the 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the visiting Vikings (3-5) managed to get only one runner as far as third base against Schnur. The Iron Bucks right-hander threw 32 pitches in the first two innings, only 52 in the next five frames.
“I was having trouble with my slider early in the game, so I went to the splitter,” Schnur said. “I found some success with that and it carried me through for a while. Once it got a little cooler out, movement came back to my slider and I had both pitches to work with.
“I’m the closer at Fairmont and I like that role, but being able to start gives me more time to work on different stuff. I’m enjoying that opportunity.”
Sean Harisin threw the final two innings for the Iron Bucks, allowing a pair of runs in the eighth. He retired the side in order in the ninth to get the save.
“Sean was getting some soft contact and some balls were falling in (in the eighth), but he fought through it,” Piccini said.
The Iron Bucks added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Ty Mack had a two-out RBI single in the seventh. With two outs and no one on in the eighth, Cooper Baxter, A.J. Kuzier and Mason Fixx were all hit by pitches. Colin Patterson then drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the final run of the night.
Paul Krueger was the hard-luck loser for Kiski Valley, throwing 75 pitches in six innings and allowing only two runs.
“Pitching and defense have been our strength,” Vikings manager Denny Montgomery said. “We haven’t hit the ball consistently and our best hitter couldn’t make it tonight. That was a bat we couldn’t afford to lose.
“Their guy (Schnur) did a nice job against us. He had our hitters off-balance all night.”
Kuzier and Lance Slater had two singles each for Butler. Strom had a pair of RBI.
“We have good chemistry here,” Schnur said. “There’s a lot of Butler guys on this team and we haven’t played together in a couple of years. It’s been a fun reunion so far.”
Kiski Valley 000 000 020 — 2 5 3
Butler Iron Bucks 000 101 11x — 4 8 1
WP: Mac Schnur 7IP (9so, 0bb). LP: Paul Krueger 6IP (2so, 1bb).
Kiski Valley (3-5): Jake Despot 1B, Jake Stallsmith 1B, Josh Siegel 1B RBI, Jason Boller 2-1B, Bryan McCann RBI.
Butler (7-3): Brady Gavula 1B, Raymond Stierer 1B, Dustin Strom 1B 2-RBI, A.J. Kuzier 2-1B, Lance Slater 2-1B, Ty Mack 1B RBI.
Wednesday: Butler Iron Bucks at Pittsburgh Mustangs
