Denman's no-hitter gives Sweet Home baseball first win
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

In a season the Sweet Home baseball team would like to forget, pitcher Travis Denman gave his teammates a memorable performance they will always remember.

Denman fired the school's first no-hitter in at least nine years in the Panthers' 3-0 win over West Seneca West on Wednesday, May 16. The win snapped a 15-game losing streak to start the season for Sweet Home.

Denman, a junior, struck out 11 batters and walked another six.

"This group of guys showed no quit all season, win or lose, so I was happy for them," said Sweet Home coach Derek Zgoda.

Sweet Home only had three hits against West Seneca West but made the most of them. Already up 1-0, Casey Kacz hit a two-out two-RBI single to score Ryan Maxwell and Aaron Klein. Maxwell and Klein reached on walks.

"It was nice to see someone step up and make a clutch hit," said Zgoda. "To get that 3-0 lead was huge."

Derek Wiser, who scored on a sacrifice fly by John Graziano in the fourth, and Ryan Gutt, singled for the team's two other hits.

The Panthers followed the next day with a 10-3 win at Cheektowaga on Thursday, May 17. Brian Barnas threw a complete game eight-hitter with one walk and allowing two earned runs.

Gutt led off the game with a triple and scored on a Mike Wolcott single. In the second, Graziano led off with his own triple and scored on a Brandon Hudson ground ball.

Sweet Home scored four runs in the fifth. Two of the runs came from a Graziano two-RBI triple. Graziano and Craig Young would also score in the inning. Graziano finished 2 for 4 with two triples and two runs scored. Brian Pappagallo and Rob Kurzdorfer scored on errors in the sixth and singled in runs in the seventh. Pappagallo and Kurzdorfer each had two hits.

Sweet Home dropped their other three games, beginning with a 9-7 loss at Williamsville South on Monday, May 14. South scored six runs over the first three innings and Sweet Home scored seven runs over the last three innings. Sweet Home stranded two runners in the seventh.

Denman (two hits, two runs scored) and Young (two hits, RBI) paced Sweet Home.

Frank Pieri (two hits, RBI), Dan Lynch (2 for 2, double, triple, two runs scored, two RBIs), and Andy Esposito (two hits, RBI double) led South.

Chris Hammer pitched the first five innings for Sweet Home and allowed six earned runs. Barnas threw one inning of relief and allowed one earned run.

On Tuesday, May 15, Sweet Home lost at Hamburg, 9-6. The Panthers left the bases loaded in the seventh.

Kacz (2 for 3, double, triple, two RBIs), Gutt (hit, run scored), Graziano (hit, two runs scored), Kurzdorfer (hit, run scored), Young (hit, RBI), and Pappagallo (hit) helped Sweet Home on offense.

Wolcott allowed two earned runs and recorded the loss.

Sweet Home closed out the week with a 6-2 defeat at Frontier, finishing the Panthers' league record at 1-13.

The Panthers led 2-1 heading into the fifth but Frontier had a five-run fifth, including a three-run home run, to put the game out of reach for Sweet Home.

In the third, Young doubled and scored on a Maxwell doubled and Maxwell scored on a passed ball.

Maxwell allowed six runs, three earned runs, struck out three batters, and walked another two.

Sweet Home (2-16, 1-13) played Williamsville East on Tuesday, May 22 but the result was unavailable before The Bee went to press.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com