BUTLER TWP - Curt Schnur winds up, his body twists to the right and his arm shoots back before accelerating forward with both precision and fury.

The ball sizzles through the air and smacks catcher Matt DeSantis' mitt with an audible "whack!"

Strike one.

Just another pitch in a steady string of strikes for Schnur, who has put up numbers in the last two seasons when it comes to control that would make even Greg Maddux sit up and take notice.

In 160 innings in the last two seasons for the Saxonburg Eagle County League baseball team, Schnur has walked only one batter.

"Last year, I put it on my myself to make it one of my goals going into this season," Schnur said. "One of my goals was not to walk a batter."

Oh, but he did walk that one batter. It was June 1st and the batter was Dan Peshier of Butler.

Since then, if a hitter wanted to get on base against Schnur, he had to earn it.

Easier said than done.

"I know as a coach and as a player, if you walk a guy, you're beating yourself," Schnur said.

Not many have beaten Schnur lately.

The right-hander, who has been playing in the league for nine years and has served as the Knoch High School baseball coach for the last five seasons, is 9-1 with a 2.92 ERA.

In 95 innings he given up 70 hits, has struck out 68 and walked just that one, lone batter.

"It's just phenomenal the way he is pitching," said Saxonburg coach Dan Cunningham.

Schnur pitched in college at the University of Delaware after graduating from Butler in 1991. He was also drafted by the Atlanta Braves.

He has always been a stickler for keeping walks at a minimum.

"It's part of my pitching philosophy with my guys at the high school level and here," Schnur said. "What I'm teaching them to throw, I'm teaching to get them up in the count."

Schnur regularly gets ahead of hitters with a live fastball and an array of breaking pitches.

He's also been a bulldog for Saxonburg, taking the ball when the stakes are at the highest.

Schnur pitched seven innings Thursday against Freeport in Game 1 of the Eagle County League championship series, a 4-3 win.

He returned to the mound Friday to pitch a scoreless seventh inning to preserve a 1-0 win in Game 2.

When the final out was recorded, Schnur left the mound with a shout of approval and a fist pump of success.

"Really, (Thursday) didn't take a lot out of me," Schnur said.

That left little doubt about whether Schnur was available in the final inning.

"We talked at the end of the sixth inning," Cunningham said. "I said, 'We have to make a decision here.' And Curt said, 'Give me the ball.'"

And, like always, he threw strikes.

"Whether they swing and miss or take it or hit a home run foul, you have to get ahead in the count," Schnur said. "It makes everything so much easier."