Trailblazers capture thriller against Reno

Spencer Patterson

Friday, May 18, 2001 | 9:50 a.m.

Their last meeting couldn't have been uglier, but on Thursday Durango and Reno played a game that could only be described as a thing of beauty at the 4A State Baseball Tournament.

One year after the teams' dugout-clearing incident resulted in a double-forfeit and a premature end to the 2000 tournament, the Trailblazers edged the Huskies 1-0 in eight innings at Henderson's Burkholder Field.

"Sometimes in the heat of competition, emotions get the best of you, but today both teams just wanted to come out and play baseball," Durango coach Mike Gomez said.

The game showcased a pitchers' duel between Blazer junior Frank Damewood and the Huskies' Darrick Cummings, a Nevada-Reno-bound senior. Both went the distance, allowing a combined eight hits.

"We came out playing for one run the whole way," Gomez said.

The Blazers finally got that run in the eighth inning with the benefit of just one hit. Steve Cope's double down the left-field line scored Danny Kahr, who had been hit by a pitch before moving to second on Jake Stretz's sacrifice bunt.

Damewood, who threw 98 pitches in a complete-game win, scattered five hits, striking out nine and walking none. He also received help from his defense, most notably left fielder Adam Quinlan, whose diving catch saved a run in the fourth inning.

"At the beginning of the game I was on an emotional high, but I settled down a little bit and got in a zone," Damewood said. "After we got that run, I knew I just needed to stay calm and do my job."

The 6-2 Cummings yielded just three hits, striking out seven and issuing no walks.

"He made us look bad all day," Gomez said. "We haven't seen a kid with that much of a downward plane, someone that tall who threw down like that."

Later on Thursday, the Trailblazers (26-10) moved within one win of an appearance in Saturday's state title game with a 14-9 win over Green Valley. The Gators trailed 12-0 heading into the fifth inning, but rallied for nine late runs -- five on a pair of Garrett Guzman homers -- to make things interesting.

"To have a young team like we do and to withstand a nine-run rally and get through it ... we hope it helps our maturity process," Gomez said. "But for my heart's sake, 12-0 would have been fine."

The Gators (24-7) and Huskies (29-9) will meet today at 3 p.m. at CCSN's Lied Field, with the winner advancing to play Durango at 6 p.m. at the same site.

On the other side of the bracket, Northern Region champion Galena (27-9) stayed in the winner's bracket with a 5-2 win over Basic Thursday night at Lied. The Grizzlies chased Wolves starter Brandon Gainey in the first inning, and held on despite a 13-strikeout barrage by Basic reliever Matt Elliott.

"Hindsight is 20-20," Wolves coach Mike Kazek said. "We hoped to get a few innings out of our starter and bring Matt in later. Innings are the name of the game. You have to have some left for that last game."

Grizzlies first baseman Billy Paganetti lived up to his advanced billing, going 2-for-2 with a double, three runs and a pair of stolen bases to lead his team's attack.

Freshman pitcher Garrett Banks also played a key role for the victors, limiting Basic to five hits and retiring the game's final eight batters for the complete-game win in his first state tournament appearance.

"He works quick, keeps the defense on its toes and keeps the ball in the park," Galena coach Dave Calaway said. "He's just a very composed young man."

The Wolves (27-12), who defeated Bishop Gorman 7-0 earlier Thursday, will match up with the Gaels (27-10) again at 3 p.m. at Burkholder, with the winner moving on to face Galena at 6 p.m. at the same site.