Kneeland flirted with some historical single-game superlatives as the senior right went into shutdown mode against Alderson Broaddus to close a three-game series.
The right hander earned his first winning decision of the season in dominating fashion, striking out 15 Battlers while getting 26 of the 27 outs in the final box score.
Kneeland was relieved after going 8.2 IP and giving up just one run on two hits. He walked four as Nate Robinson recorded the final out for the save.
Kneeland’s 15 strikeouts represent the second-highest single-game total in conference history behind New York Mets minor league and former Kentucky Wesleyan Matt Pobereyko (18 K).
Pobereyko also had 15 strikeouts during his career as Kneeland matched the impressive punchout total for one of the best nine-inning efforts in league history.
Kneeland has started nine games for the Yellow Jackets this season while toeing the rubber for 49.1 innings. Opposing hitters are hitting just .251 off of him and he averages more than one strikeout per frame.