THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604040475
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
His pitching coach calls him the best-kept secret in Virginia, but that's not exactly true.
When First Colonial's Scott Schneider entered Tuesday's game against Churchland, the horde of major league scouts and college coaches camped behind home plate scrambled for their radar guns in respect for his fastball, which has been timed at 90 mph.
But once Schneider was lifted for another reliever, one of those scouts turned to another and asked, ``Who was that? Was that Schneider?''
They know of Schneider, but they don't know him. That's because Schneider moved to Virginia 15 months ago from Florida and pitched only 17 innings last spring for a Princess Anne team that won four games.
His first exposure to area scouts and recruiters came last fall, when he pitched for a traveling team that played in North Carolina and Maryland. There he showed enough to pique the interest of several colleges.
The recruiting battle came down to Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion. Last week Schneider gave an oral commitment to the Rams.
In an unusual twist, First Colonial coach Norbie Wilson had to get his scouting report on Schneider from VCU coach Paul Keyes.
``I don't remember him from last year and didn't know who he was when he transferred here,'' Wilson said. ``I talked to coach Keyes at a clinic in January and he told me Scott was a project, but that he has a great live arm.''
That arm is attached to the kind of body that scouts love. Schneider stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 185 pounds.
Schneider always has loved baseball but is athletic enough to have been voted first-team All-Beach last fall in volleyball.
He played both sports in Florida, where he was used more as an outfielder than as a pitcher in baseball. He is nominally listed as an outfielder for the Patriots, but his future is clearly on the mound.
``I've always been able to throw hard,'' he said, ``but I had an accuracy problem.''
First Colonial pitching Hugh Hallinan has worked diligently with Schneider on his mechanics.
``I'm trying to get him to understand that hard doesn't necessarily mean better,'' Hallinan said.
That sounds simple in theory but is much harder in practice.
``In my mind I'm not satisfied if I don't throw hard enough,'' said Schneider, who is learning a curve and a changeup to go with his fastball. ``I wonder what other people are thinking. Is it a macho thing? In a way it is, but I'm trying to work through it.''
On a deep staff with three pitchers with playoff experience, Schneider knows that he has to earn his innings.
``I'm competing for a spot just like everyone else,'' he said.
Schneider's appearance against Churchland was his first of the season. He pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and no runs. He walked two and struck out three, including Otis Jones with two outs and the bases loaded in the third.
``Scott is a diamond in the rough,'' Wilson said. ``But I'll say this. I think he'll make an impact on our staff soon.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot
Scott Schneider's fastball has been timed at 90 mph, and he is known
to have a live arm. Known by major league scouts, that is. But even
his coach wasn't sure what he had when Schneider transferred to
First Colonial.
Photo
Scott Schneider ``is a diamond in the rough,'' says his coach,
Norbie Wilson.
by CNB