High School Baseball : Rees Comes Close to Perfection but Settles for Victory

SAN DIEGO — Perfection was three outs away Tuesday afternoon for Mission Bay High School pitcher Sean Rees.

When it was over, he was just happy to come away with a victory.

Rees, a senior left-hander, struck out 16 and threw a perfect game for six innings before settling for a 6-3 victory over City Western League rival Kearny.

Rees lost his perfect game and no-hitter to Kearny’s first batter in the bottom of the seventh, Eric Mercado, who doubled to right-center field.

Kearny (4-8-1, 0-3) went on to score three runs before Rees stopped the rally. Mission Bay (13-0-1, 3-0) scored four runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth.

“I just got tired,” said Rees (6-0). “But we won the game. That’s what counts.” Rees threw a no-hitter in the first game of the season but has never thrown a perfect game. The 16 strikeouts are a career high.