High School Softball Pitcher Strikes Out All 21 Batters in Perfect Game

High school softball pitcher Mia Faieta truly pitched a perfect game when striking out all 21 batters over seven innings in Friday's 4-0 state semifinal victory over North Warren.         

The Cedar Grove sophomore recorded a punchout against every opponent for the second time in nine days.     

"I've never witnessed anything like that before," Cedar Grove head coach Nicole Velardi told The Record's Robert Aitken Jr. "She really held it together. We didn't realize until the last inning that she was doing it."

As captured above, News 12 Varsity's Sean Reilly shared the scorecard from Faieta's remarkable gem. Faieta might have realized what she was accomplishing before her coach.            

"This was fun," Faieta told Reilly. "I knew as the game kept going on [that] I had more and more. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to jinx it."

According to MaxPreps, she has recorded a 1.36 ERA this season, while Aitken Jr. noted Friday's contest put her at 321 strikeouts for her sophomore campaign, which leads the state of New Jersey.      

Cedar Grove will face Verona in Tuesday's sectional final.        

[h/t Sports Illustrated's Dan Gartland]