23 strike outs and team didn't win!

That is something.  Picture this conversation:

 

Interviewer - What is the best game you ever pitched?

R. Garcia - Well I threw a perfect game in HS once.

Interviewer - Wow that must have been amazing.  How excited were you about that?

R. Garcia - I was bummed....we lost.

Interviewer - You're pulling my leg, is that possible?

R. Garcia - Yep ...I'm living proof.

 

The ultimate oxymoron in baseball and softball.  Losing a perfect game.  The only thing that would have been more amazing was if she struck out all 24.  Still a great performance.

When my daughter was in high school their pitcher was dominant. One game the second baseman misplayed a ball in the 7th inning that was called the first hit. After the game the second baseman apologized to the pitcher. The pitcher responded ... "Forget about it. It's not like I was pitching a perfect game. Between travel and high school I already have over 50 no hitters. Don't worry, it will happen again."

 

Yes, the girl went D1. My daughter may be one of the few high school athletes whose high school team was better than her travel team. The pitcher was a dominant studdess. She was no lower than the second best pitcher in the state. Five  players went D1. The whole lineup played college ball.

My freshman year of College we had our Ace of the staff throw a no-no and we lost 2-0.... BB's, HBP's and E's were our down fall on the defensive side, on the offensive side we couldn't hit our way out of a wet paper bag.

One year in fall ball our ace pitcher (who would eventually be drafted and signed with the Rays out of HS) pitched a no hitter and we lost 1-0.  In the 1st inning he walked a batter who eventually  made it to 3rd on wild pitches and passed balls.   Another passed ball and he scored. Though we had 8 hits on the day the team could never get the timely hit to drive in any runs.

Andy Hawkins once lost a no hitter 4-0.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07...t-with-no-glory.html

 

Steve Barber lost a no hitter 2-1 due to ten walks, two hbp and two wild pitches.

 

http://articles.baltimoresun.c...itch-orioles-history

 

This came up in a MaxPreps article the other day.  The record for strikeouts in a regulation HS game is 24 -- and the kid lost that game 6-3.

This actually reminded me of one of the least remembered AND amazing achievements in MLB history:

 

Harvey Haddix of the 1959 Pittsburg Pirates - Perfect through 12 against a great Braves team and lost in the 13th.  It is one of the greatest pitching performances of all time

This and Marichal and Spahn tossing 15 inning complete games against each other.

There's some good ones here, including striking out 27 and losing: http://www.hardballtimes.com/d...he-dalkowski-depths/

I had a former player strike out 29 in a Texas HS game and lost.  Reliever walked in winning run.....