Paul Panduro put his name in the record book at Pittsburg State after tossing the baseball program’s first no-hitter since March 30, 1996.

                Panduro, a Scottsbluff WESTCO and Western Nebraska Community College baseball player, was dominant on the mound as he tossed a complete-game no-hitter on Friday, April 22 when Pittsburg State defeated Newman 9-0. Panduro was also named the MIAA Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance on the hill.

                Panduro said he didn’t realize that he had a no-hitter because he was so “in the zone” of pitching on Friday. Plus, the no-hitter came a day before his 22nd birthday.

                “I’m going to be honest, it really didn’t mean anything to me getting this no-hitter before my birthday, the thing that meant most to me is seeing my teammates, coaches, and my parents happy with tears of joy! I didn’t expect to tear up but when I saw my parents and their looks on their faces, it all came out! That was the best part about the no-hitter.”

That is the pitcher and person that Panduro is; he is a team player and he was definitely having one of his best games at Pittsburg as he struck out 16, which set a single-game school record. Also, after issuing a one-out walk in the third inning, Panduro retired 15 straight, including 12 by strikeout.

“From the view of my teammates they said I was dominant on every pitch,” he said. “I didn’t let one little bad thing affect me or turn into more bad things! I felt good that day with all my pitches I was confident with my fastball and slider and was hitting my spots!”

The biggest thing about the no-hitter was having his parents in attendance to watch him toss the no-hitter.

“I can’t even explain what was going on through my head on Friday,” he said. “It was probably one of the best feelings you can ever imagine! Especially having your teammates drench you in water and run after you on the field! And the best part of it was having my parents witness it after driving to Wichita that day! And spending the weekend with me for my birthday!”

This is not Panduro’s first no-hitter because he had one for the WESTCO Zephyrs, but that was a 7-inning game. The no-hitter he tossed at Pittsburg State was a 9-inning game.

Panduro said that he doesn’t even remember most of the game.

“I’m going to be honest, I don’t remember 75 percent of the game,” he said. “I remember pitching the first two innings and then being in the zone where I don’t remember nothing from the 3rd inning to the 8th inning! After striking out the last out I went to my catcher and that was when everyone went crazy and I didn’t even know I threw a no hitter, my catcher was like ‘Paul, look at the scoreboard, you just threw a no hitter’ and then we all went crazy on the field!”

Panduro has improved a lot from his time at WNCC and now at Pittsburg State. Coming into WNCC his freshman year, he had to adjust and last spring, Panduro had an outstanding season for the Cougars where he finished the year with 94 strikeouts in 14 games. His 94 strikeouts a year ago is a WNCC season record.

At Pittsburg State, Panduro has 29 strikeouts with an ERA of 5.63 in 24 innings pitched. Panduro said his next scheduled start could come Saturday against Washburn in Topeka, Kansas.

Panduro is hoping to build off of his no-hitter on Friday the rest of the season.

“One way I can build off this no hitter is keeping the same intensity, the same confidence and just give my team a chance to win and that’s all you can do as a pitcher because obviously no hitters are rare, so doing it again the week after is pretty hard to do,” he said. “So just keeping the same intensity, the same focus and the same confidence I had on Friday is all I can control for the future outings.

                Panduro said it has taken him some time to get used of play I the MIAA conference.

                “I’m going to be honest, at first it was hard to get used to the game of speed and the amount of talent in the MIAA,” he said. “I let a lot of things get to me the first half of the season, but the second half of the season has been a different story. I haven’t really changed anything about my pitches or miles per hour on my fastball which is still sitting at 90-93 topping out at 95. The main part of me getting better has been my confidence and my mentality which plays a huge part.”

                This weekend’s games with Washburn are the final regular season games as they get ready for playoff action.

                “This year’s season has been good,” Panduro said. “We have had our ups and downs, so getting this sweep was a huge confidence booster to our team to keep it hot late in the season and hopefully send it into playoffs.”