"It feels good just to come out here and just get back on the field. I thought my curveball worked well. But today was just about the team. I'm glad to help out the team in any way possible."

Sounds like a veteran pitcher coming back after an injury rehab, don't it?

Instead, that's Scotty McCreery, who pitched a nearly flawless inning Saturday for his Garner (N.C.) Magnet High School varsity squad. And no injury for Scotty—in his two-year hiatus, Scotty won American Idol and opened a tour for country superstar Brad Paisley.

Still, Scotty, 18, felt the itch to return to the Garner Trojans, and they faced off against the mighty Fuquay-Varina Bengals. Down by an 8-5 margin, the Trojans brought in Curveball McCreery, who retired the side with two strikeouts and no hits, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Scotty got the first batter on three curveballs, the second batter on a pop up. The third batter struck out, but reached base when the catcher dropped the third strike. Scotty forced a grounder from batter No. 4 to get out of the inning. Alas, Scotty's team got only two more runs, finishing with an 8-7 loss.

Still, Coach Derik Goffena said Scotty put in a solid performance.

"That was a good inning of work for him or anybody else," Coach said.

Scotty was just happy to be there.

"It means a lot to still be a part of this," he said. "It's still playing with my friends, just being back home. I'm blessed to have this opportunity."

Read more at the charlotteobserver.com.