NEELYVILLE -- With 90-degree temperatures beating down on the field at Neelyville high school, Greenville's Tye Huff brought the heat to the mound in Tuesday's game.
The senior pitcher threw his second no-hitter in the team's first five games and his first three starts. He has yet to allow a run this season.
Huff began his fall campaign by tossing a no-hitter against Holcbomb in which he struck out nine batters. In the second of his three starts, he gave up just two hits -- his only two given up this season -- and struck out six. All three of his starts have ended via run rule victories for the Bears.
Tuesday, Huff struck out nine of the 18 batters he faced, went three up, three down three times in five innings and gave up just one walk as Greenville played nearly a perfect game en route to a 15-0 win at Neelyville.
Huff was quick to credit the defense behind him and his coach for the strong outing.
"It feels great because the past couple years we've had some defensive problems, so I mean coach shoring up the defense this year has been amazing," Huff said. "The guys, they're out there putting in the work every single day to get better."
Even when he wasn't striking people out, Huff stayed involved defensively. He was involved in nine of the first 10 outs Greenville got defensively, striking out seven during that stretch and fielding two grounders for easy outs at first base.
He got into one jam in the second inning with two on and nobody out after a walk and a hit by pitch, but head coach Jeremy Smith encouraged his team from the dugout, saying, "Fight through adversity." Huff did just that, striking out the next three batters to end the side.
"He's been dealing for us. He's our senior ace, and we rely on him a lot for our success of our season," Smith said.
With some mention of the no-hitter going around in the dugout, Huff said the thought of it can creep into his mind at times, although that's not his main motivation.
"You know in the back of your head. I'm not shooting for a no-hitter, but you know you're like, 'It's back there; it could be,' and it's awesome to throw a no-hitter, and it's just a great feeling all around."
Having a player like Huff who can pitch a whole game works wonders for the Bears from a mental standpoint, easing the burden on some of the other players.
"It allows us to focus in on our defense, but more importantly is our offense, getting our offense going," Smith said. "Guys are not as tense when they're at the plate because they're not thinking about the errors where the ball was put in play last inning or the pressure is on them."
Offensively, Greenville (4-1) was just as good as it was on defense.
The Bears recorded two runs in the first inning and another in the third for an early 3-0 lead, but the visitors did a ton of damage in the fourth and fifth innings.
Greenville scored six runs each in both innings, batting around its order both times. Kevin Eudaley started the downpour of runs with a double to center field that scored Zach Garrett and Alex Hicks. Huff showed his ability to perform on both sides of the ball with a two-RBI double bring home Eudaley and Dylan Barks. Huff scored on a double from Jason Bratton, and pinch runner Patrick Liddell finished the side's scoring when he reached home on a ground ball that went to first base for the forceout.
The Bears weren't done, though.
After a double play saw the first two outs of the fifth inning happen in a flash, a single from Barks -- caused by a miscommunication in the Neelyville outfield when everyone backed off of a fly ball -- sparked a two-out rally.
Three singles, two walks and a double led to six more runs for the Bears before the side was finally retired on a fly ball to Neelyville (0-5) second baseman Chance McElhaney.
Neelyville had to score six runs to keep the game going, but two strikeouts and a 4-3 ground ball ended the game.
Huff finished an all-around great day with a two of three performance at the plate, scoring three runs and driving in a pair.
Bratton led the Bears with four RBIs, tying Eudaley for the team lead in hits with three.
Noah Burton and Austin Ennis were the only Tigers to safely reach base. Burton reached twice via a walk in the second inning and a fielding error at shortstop. Ennis was hit by a pitch and stole second base, making him the only Neelyville player to get into scoring position.
"You just gotta move on," Neelyville head coach Tyler Thompson said. "That's a part of life; you gotta move on from whatever happens, and the next day you wake up and try to get better.
"... You've got two choices in life. You can either quit or you can come and get better the next day, and I don't think any of these guys are ready to quit."