ESPNW UCLA recruit Rachel Garcia pitched a perfect game on Saturday in the final of the Thousand Oaks softball tournament.

But her team lost. The Highland (Palmdale, California) senior tossed the game of her life — notching 23 strikeouts, including the first 18 batters she faced, and allowed just one ball to be hit in play. Due to a quirky tiebreaker rule, it somehow still wasn’t enough to earn the win against Camarillo (California).

With the game tied at zero, officials implemented the California tiebreaker for extra innings. As David Brown of CBS’ “Eye on Baseball” blog explains, “Once extra innings begin (usually the seventh or eighth), a runner is placed at second base to start every frame. That way, a team can score by bunting her over and getting her in without the benefit of a hit.”

Per the Los Angeles Daily News, Garcia tossed a wild pitch in the eighth inning with Camarillo’s Sara Stroud on second. Stroud made it to third and catcher Elyssa Bramer made the regrettable decision to throw to third base. Her toss ended up in left field and Stroud was able to cross home for the winning run.

Sheesh another black eye for women’s sports. Title IX does a lot of good and without it there wouldn’t be a pitcher out there striking out 23 batters catching the interest of casual baseball fans. 

But then with all that good the sport still requires a rule that throws a runner on second to facilitate scoring because the batters hit like girls. 

Jim Joyce’s life was ruined when he botched a call during Armando Galarraga’s near-perfect game.

Tears, apologies, death threats, this botched Perfect Game had it all. If Rachel Garcia were an MLB pitcher and missed a Perfect Game because some some BOGUS rule baseball purist would make Baltimore tonight look like childs play.