HS Softball Pitcher Strikes Out 23 Over Course of Perfect Game, Still Loses

A hot pitcher conjures up some of sports' weirdest little traditions.

The team ignores the pitcher, and the stands get quiet. I'm pretty sure Joe Maddon would embalm a hurler riding a hot streak in carbonite between trips to the mound if officials let him.

All of this weird voodoo is conducted in the name of extending the streak and warding off the body thetans responsible for 99 percent of baseball hiccups—hiccups just like the one that marred an otherwise incredible day on the dirt for high school softball pitcher Rachel Garcia.

The Los Angeles Daily News' Tony Ciniglio (h/t USA Today High School Sports) brings us the news of Garcia's tragically strong performance. A senior at Highland High School in Palmdale, California, Garcia recently managed the singular feat of throwing a perfect game and still losing the decision.

Garcia stepped onto the mound and struck out 23 of 24 batters over the course of a game against Camarillo in the Thousand Oaks Tournament on Saturday.

A masterwork by any standard, Garcia's shot at perfection was ruined in part by a weird tiebreaker rule and a single gut-wrenching play.

Matched up against a strong performance from Camarillo pitcher Emily Orosco, Garcia entered the eighth inning looking at a 0-0 tie. After seven innings, California high school softball rules call for a baserunner to be placed on second at the beginning of each inning.

Shortly after the beginning of the eighth, Garcia lost control of a pitch and heaved a wild ball past the catcher. The runner ran to third and eventually home after the catcher tried to make the out and overthrew the ball to third.

Highland failed to tie or score in response, leaving Garcia with 23 K's and a tough loss to digest. She says it was a difficult defeat to stomach but is trying to look past the meltdown.

“It's pretty tough," Garcia said, describing the loss. "All you can do is just learn from it and move on to the next game."

She said she knew early on that her stuff was strong.

"After the first inning, after I got those first three strikeouts, I was like, 'Oh man, like, I actually feel really good right now.' All my pitches were moving good," Garcia said, adding, "It was pretty intense."

Now we must address another question: Could no one help out this lone Spartan warrior?

Come on, Highland. Your pitcher was out there alone, throwing burning oil and single-handedly fending off the Vandal hordes at the gate, and you can't get her a single run in return?

Sigh.

Dan is on Twitter. Sometimes there can't be only one highlander.