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Naylor hurler tosses school’s first perfect game
NAYLOR — The sweat was dripping as his chest pumped. Not from fear, but of the proverbial “zone” he was in as the tension mounted.
Two outs in the fifth and up 10-0, Naylor senior hurler Kyle Tubb did what he does best: shut down the opposing offense en route to a perfect game against Clearwater on Sept. 10.
This marks the first-ever perfect game in school history.
For Tubb, known to his teammates as a silent leader, his time on the bump hinges on one intangible: tunnel vision. And that vision also is part of his leadership arsenal.
“He doesn’t say a whole lot. He isn’t very vocal, but he goes out there and competes,” said Naylor coach Logan Foster. “He is going to go out there and do his job. The past couple games he has really thrown well. He is the kind of kid who leads by example.”
The Eagles gave the hurler all of the offense he needed in the first inning, and the defense was stellar, something in which Tubb takes to heart, knowing in any count, in any frame, he can rare back and deliver any pitch he wants.
The attack was simple, he said.
“Throw strikes in the zone and hit my spots. The defense, they make plays behind me,” said Tubb, who also singled in the game.
The on-field celebration was not over-the-top, rather simplistic, in fact, given the heat of the moment. A moment unbeknownst to others. But one Tubb certainly will tell his grandkids about.
The southpaw, throughout the tilt, was unaware of historic steps he was taking.
“It was not too crazy,” Foster said. “Kyle knew he had a no-hitter but didn’t know it was a perfect game.”
Tubb fanned 12 hitters, and the offense knocked out Clearwater’s starter after just two innings.
The stingy defense is an asset many pitchers don’t have, and the complimentary luxury certainly is not lost on the senior.
“They will make plays and have your back,” Tubb said, who, as of Wednesday, sported a 2-2 record. “It makes it easier to pitch.”
No matter the count, no mater the sign, Tubb’s ability to get ahead with the heater while mixing in the curve helped keep the opposition at bay.
Being a lockdown starter, as the cliché states, hinges on a one-pitch-at-a-time philosophy.
And the Eagles star was so locked in he really didn’t realize what was happening — until the final out, that is.
“When it was over, they were all talking about it,” Tubb said. “I didn’t realize it until after the game.”
Naylor plated 10 runs in five innings on 10 hits in the mercy-ruled contest.
As for the game ball, the entire roster signed it and gave it to Tubb after the historic performance.
A treasured memory, indeed.