There is an unwritten rule in baseball that says when a pitcher is throwing a ho-hitter, no one in the dug out can talk about it.

    The idea is to act normal and avoid jinxing the no-no bid.

    When Highland’s Bo Burrup stepped off the mound Friday afternoon at Halliwell Park, he had no idea what he had just done.

    The big lefty tossed a no-hitter against the Knights, striking out 17, and was a first-inning error away from a perfect game. Highland prevailed 5-0.

    “Wow. I’m blown away,” Burrup said when he heard the details of his pitching performance. “You just go out there and do the best you can. Today was great.”

    “I didn’t hear any of the kids talking about it,” said Highland head coach Mike Green. “I knew what was going on. I don’t think any of them did. The rest of the coaces did as well, but obviously we’re not going to say anything...”

    Burrup said that he had a hard time finding the strike zone during his pregame bullpen session. But when it came time to take the mound, instinct kicked in.

    “It was probably my worst bullpen ever. I don’t know what it was, I just couldn’t find it,” he said. “I was talking to (catcher) Kade (Hall) on the way back and he said ‘alright, let’s go get ‘em.’ I didn’t have my curveball.

    “I had my fastball all day and my changeup, and I found my curveball later.”

    After Hillcrest’s Tanner Stenquist reached base on a throwing error in the first inning (he was later tagged out in a rundown), Burrup proceeded to strike out the next 10 batters, a streak that stretched into the fourth inning.

    The Rams got their other three outs with two pop outs to short and a grounder to the third baseman.

    “The defense behind me was great,” Burrup said. “Kade behind the plate getting those balls in the ground was great. He did a great job.”

    “It takes an effort, a team effort to have what happened here,” Green said. “Kade did a great job of calling the game. They were in tune and he did a good job of blocking the ball in certain instances. All around, it was pretty dang good.”

    Highland also got a solid performance from its hitters. The Rams racked up 12 hits in the outing, three coming from reserve player Mitch Guiberson.

    “Mitch had big hits. We know he can play,” Green said. “He is just behind Bo and Zach. He came in a situation where he could DH for us. He’s got a bright future for us. I was super happy with what he did today.”

    The Rams weren’t necessarily struggling at the plate before Friday’s contest, but the warmer weather helped them ignite a nice offensive streak against Hillcrest.

    “We’re not having to hit in 32-degree weather, so that helps,” Green said. “It’s coming (along).”

    “Anytime you take the mound and you have a lineup like that hitting behind you, it’s a great feeling,” Burrup said. “We haven’t been hitting as well, but today was warm and the bats came out.”

    With the win, Highland clinches home-field advantage for the 5A Fifth-Sixth District tournament and reaches 10-0 in league play. The Rams take on the Knights in a doubleheader today, and Green says the team is still motivated.

    “We got home field wrapped up,” he said. “The kids know that, but we had a talk with them last week. We want a sweep. We want to finish undefeated in the district.”

    Highland (17-3, 10-0) will be in Idaho Falls this morning for an 11 a.m. start.

Highland 5, Hillcrest 0

Hillcrest    000    000    0 — 0 0 3

Highland    001    140    x — 5 121

Hillcrest — Connor Van Orden and Jade Rencher; Highland — Burrup and Hall. 2B — Burrup (H), Guiberson (H).