TYLER, Texas -- Two weeks after Austin Schneider was one strikeout short of tying the UT Tyler single-game record, the senior righthander went the distance for a school-record 17 strikeouts in a masterful complete-game, two-hit shutout performance.
Schneider's dominant outing led the No. 21-ranked Patriots to a 3-0 win over Cameron University in Friday's Lone Star Conference series opener.
Schneider surrendered just one hit until the ninth inning, although Cameron's starting pitcher Michael Womack held UT Tyler hitless through six innings of a scoreless pitcher's duel. Cade Watson's one-out triple to right-center broke up the no-hit bid in the bottom of the seventh inning, and three walks, two wild pitches, and a passed ball produced a 3-0 lead for Schneider.
With the victory, UT Tyler improved to 13-2 overall and in the Lone Star Conference standings. The Patriots are in second place in the Lone Star Conference behind unbeaten Angelo State. Cameron dropped to 4-11 overall (4-11 LSC).
How It Happened: Austin Schneider recorded at least one strikeout in all nine innings, and he had two or more strikeouts in seven of the nine frames. After UT Tyler gave him a 3-0 lead with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, Schneider struck out the side on 16 pitches in the top of the eighth to tie the program mark of 15, set in 2008 by Brett Holland.
Schneider notched his record-breaking 16th strikeout for the second out in the ninth inning, a three-pitch swinging strikeout. After a Ryan Carter single into shallow center field, Schneider battled back from a 3-1 count for strikeout number 17, finishing off the complete-game two-hit shutout.
The only other hit Schneider allowed, and the only hit of the game through the first six-and-a-half innings was an Izrael Trevino two-out double in the third inning. Schneider responded with an inning-ending strikeout, one of seven he recorded to end an inning.
Cade Watson's one-out triple in the seventh was followed by a five-pitch walk to Corbin Geisendorff, the seventh walk issued by Cameron starter Michael Womack. That brought in the first of two relief pitchers in the seventh, and Cody Windisch drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases before a wild pitch allowed Watson to score from third to break the scoreless tie. Geisendorff later scored on a passed ball, and Windisch crossed the plate with another insurance run to extend the lead to 3-0.
Inside The Box Score: Jordan Gochenour collected UT Tyler's only other hit besides Watson's seventh-inning triple, recording an eighth-inning single to extend his streak of reaching safely to 15 games… Gochenour is batting a team-high .397 (23-for-58) on the season… Austin Schneider leads Division II in strikeouts per nine innings (16.08) among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched this season… Schneider is holding opposing hitters to a .122 batting average, and he is tied for the Division II strikeouts lead (53) with University of Tampa's Brandon Knarr… Schneider has recorded 11-plus strikeouts in three of his five starts this year.
What's Next: UT Tyler hosts Cameron for a pair of seven-inning games with a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 29. The four-game series concludes Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Quotable: Senior RHP Austin Schneider
Quotable: Head Coach Brent Porche
