Anticipated rain showers moved up the start time for the Bob Everett Classic Thursday night between host Gilbert and Arizona College Prep.

But the light rain that did fall had no effect on sophomore pitcher Lane Abel, who threw a no-hitter for the Tigers in a 7-0 victory over the Knights, as Gilbert enters spring break with an 11-3 record.

"Tonight was really fun," Abel said afterward. "I had great defense helping me out, and my teammates were really good in the dugout so I just thank them. We had a couple of plays that saved the no-hitter, and our defense was there the whole time and that's what's fun, we played as a team."

The game was scoreless through three innings before Gilbert broke things open in the fourth with four runs.

Drew Baker, DJ Guerrero and Will Bates each drove in runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Guererro scored another run on a throwing error after Bates' deep shot to left field scored Brayden Scott from second base. Scott and Johnson Drew  scored runs in the sixth inning off throwing errors, while Matty Gonzales drove Baker in on a sacrifice fly.

The 7-0 lead gave Abel the realization of what was at stake.

"The sixth inning is when I really started thinking about it," Abel admitted. "I brought it up and one of my teammates said I jinxed, but I thought 'you know what, if they get a hit, they deserve it and that might happen. But the key was just keeping it fun."'

Abel's teammates had plenty of fun after the last out, rushing the mound, spraying water bottles with backflps included, as it was a championship worthy celebration.

"This was a big confidence booster for our team," Abel added. "We've got region games coming up that are really important. It's good we left on a winning note, and now we've got a week off, so we'll be ready to get back to it."

Arizona College Prep dropped to 10-4-1.