There’s a cardinal rule in baseball that when a pitcher is close to throwing a no-hitter, no one on his team should talk about it.

That was never a problem for Pleasant Valley’s Ryan Kymer, as he threw a five-inning gem Monday in the Bears’ 14-1 mercy rule win over East Stroudsburg North.

Asked when he was aware about not giving up a hit, his answer proved he never felt any tension during the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference game.

“I didn’t know until the end when we celebrated,” he said.

Although he walked three and a run scored on an errant pickoff throw to third, Kymer felt he had command of his pitches from start to finish.

“I threw a bunch of my fastballs where I wanted them, and my curves were working,” he explained. “The defense was solid. That’s a great combo.”

Kymer was unfazed by his accomplishment.

“We have a lot of games left to play,” he said.

Bears’ coach TJ Murphy, whose team improved to 12 -1 with nine straight wins, acknowledged Kymer’s performance, as well as how the rest of his squad has played thus far this season.

“They have bought into what we expect of them,” he said. “Throw strikes. Play defense and give us timely hitting. We got that today.”

The Timberwolves (1-13) hung tough and trailed 3-1 going into the bottom of the fourth, as lefty junk-baller Bryan Ballinger allowed just two runs in the first on RBI singles by Brandon Ratti and Jack Smale. The Bears pushed another run across in the home third inning on an error and a single by Andrew Meitzler.

PV then exploded for seven runs in the fourth. With one out, Kymer singled to left. A couple of walks later, Zach Walters singled home two runs, and Meitzler cleared the bases with a double to right center.

Pinch hitter James Syracuse’s single up the middle plated two more runs to give the Bears a commanding 10-1 lead.

The only drama left was whether or not Kymer would get his no-hitter – and he did it from the bench and not from the mound.

The Bears needed only to score one more run in the bottom of the fifth to win by the 10-run lead mercy rule, and they did it in grand style as Smale belted a grand slam home run over the right field fence.

Murphy has set lofty goals for his team as they move into a tough part of their schedule.

“We’ve already won the Monroe Division of the EPC (Eastern Penn Conference), and gotten into the conference and district playoffs, but we really haven’t won anything yet,” he said. “We need to stay hungry.”

If the Bears’ bats stay hot and they keep their plate discipline, then Murphy’s call for hunger will be satisfied.

Against ES North, Pleasant Valley pounded out nine hits while drawing 10 walks in the abbreviated affair.

FIRE ME UP!

... The Pleasant Valley baseball experience goes beyond what happens between the lines. Pregame country music blasts through hitting and infield-outfield practice. A PA announcer shouts out the home team starting lineup. Walk up music, selected by each Bear player, accompanies the hitters as they step up to hit. More music and ads are read aloud between innings. Coach Murphy believes the music helps to get his team ready to play, and with 12 wins in 13 games played, one can’t argue with the results.

TOUGH TESTS

... Pleasant Valley’s next two opponents, Bethlehem Catholic and Parkland, should be highly competitive games for the Bears as both teams have a combined 23-7 record.

ES North 000 10 - 1 0 2

Pleasant Valley 201 74 - 14 9 1

Ballanger, Collyer (4), Toolsec (5) and Wilczewski; Kymer and Meitzler. W - Kymer. L - Ballinger. HR: Pleasant Valley - Smale (5th, three on).