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

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.