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Softball pitcher throws perfect game and loses

By FanSided Staff

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A high school softball pitcher threw a perfect game but could not get the victory due to a tiebreaker rule.

Sports have a weird way of sending a plethora of mixed emotions through your head. One high school senior probably felt plenty of those swimming around after she pitched a perfect game but still somehow managed to lose the game. Turns out, due to a strange tie breaker rule, you can actually pitch a perfect game and still lose and one girl did just that. Talk about a buzz kill.

Rachel Garcia pitched just about as good as she could have the other day striking out the first 18 batters she faced. She was literally untouchable all game. Unfortunately, her teammates could not provide her with any run support, causing the California tie breaker rule to take place. The rule states that if a game exceeds the seventh inning cap due to a tie, a runner will be placed at second base at the start of each at inning for both teams. The runner doesn’t count as a hit or walk, so the perfect game stayed in tact. However, after a wild pitch advanced the runner to third and a stray throw from the catcher landed in left field, the runner was able to score notching the victory for the opposing team.

In and of itself, this is an extremely heartbreaking way to lose a game. When you add in the fact that Garcia probably pitched the best game of her life, it just adds that much more despair for the losing team. The good news is that she was able to maintain her composure and give a pretty solid post game interview.

Props to her for keeping her cool even though the loss was most definitely not her fault.

This type of thing happens in sports. No matter how well you play sometimes things just get taken away from you. In the MLB, Armando Galarraga almost became the 21st pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game. But, similarly to Garcia, his joy was robbed after umpire Jim Joyce failed to make the correct call at first base that would have solidified the perfect game.

After the game, the apologetic Joyce was extremely sorrowful for his error. Galarraga handled like a professional and they both moved on from the incident.

The lesson from all of this is that heartbreak in sports happens. Even when it’s not your fault, you can’t cause a big stink about it. Sometimes you get robbed of a perfect game and sometimes your team can’t even win despite your perfect performance. The important thing to remember is that keeping your composure shows more about your character than performing on a baseball or softball diamond ever could. Rachel Garcia demonstrated that to perfection.

H/T: ESPNW

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