Kyle Schepel pitching for Grand Valley State University in 2011. (Photo courtesy of Grand Valley State Athletics)

One week after a trio of Cedar Rapids Kernels threw a nine-inning no-hitter, South Bend Silver Hawks RHP Kyle Schepel threw a seven-inning one.

Schepel did the deed in his second professional start for an affiliated minor-league team. It was the first game of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader against the Lansing Lugnuts.

Schepel struck out nine batters and walked one. His no-hitter is the fourth in team history; prior to Sunday, the last Silver Hawks no-hitter was thrown by Edgar Gonzales against the West Michigan Whitecaps exactly 11 years earlier, on April 14, 2002.

Schepel pitched for the independent Frontier League’s Rockford RiverHawks last year, going 4-7 with a 3.66 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 78.2 IP (16 games/11 starts). Before that, he pitched for Grand Valley State University (near Grand Rapids, Michigan) for four collegiate seasons, during which he went 31-7 and notched 259 strikeouts.