By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
The nation’s No. 1 catcher also can hit. Kyle Skipworth, a senior at Patriot in Riverside, Calif., recently collected 18 consecutive hits – No. 3 in high school baseball history. The record of 30 by Dean Sandwisch of Woodmore (Elmore, Ohio) has stood since the 1983-84 season.
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior, who has signed with Arizona State, collected two hits against Anaheim Canyon before the streak ended abruptly on a called third strike. He actually had reached base 25 straight times, which is a California state record. During the streak he once went 5-for-5 and twice went 4-for-4. At last report his batting average this spring was a stratospheric .667.
Baseball Notes
* Home runs apparently are coming in bunches this spring. Andrew Blackwell became the second player to recently challenge the national record for home runs in a seven-inning game, which is five. He blasted four and drove in 10 runs as Brevard, N.C., belted Canton Pisgah, 16-7. He finished 4-for-5 with one strikeout…Tucson Catalina shortstop Shaun Cooper tied the Arizona Class 4A career home run record with No. 33. He has 10 this spring.
* Of course, pitchers always want in on the act, too. For example, Ryan Walker struck out 20 batters in North Carolina as Hillsborough Orange blanked Pittsboro Northwood, 8-0…Close behind: Colton Cain pitched a no-hitter and gunned down 19 batters in Texas as Waxahachie shut out Red Oak, 8-0. He also doubled and homered. The 6-3, 225-pound junior is 8-0 with 89 strikeouts and is batting .480 with five home runs.
* Two pitchers turned in 17-strikeout gems. Senior Eric Rice reached that number in Florida as Boynton Beach Park Vista topped Lantana Santaluces, 6-1. He fanned the first 12 hitters…In Kansas, senior Lee Ridenhour fired a no-hitter and also fanned 17 as Shawnee Mission West whipped city foe North, 6-1.The Kansas signee, who walked only one, opened with seven consecutive strikeouts and closed with a flourish by fanning the side in the final inning.
* College and professional scouts are beginning to take a hard look at Tom Lemke, a 6-7, junior right-hander who throws in the low to mid-90s for Northwest Christian (Phoenix, Ariz.). He boasts a 2.17 earned run average and has struck out 52 in 29 innings. As a sophomore, he posted a 10-1 record with a 1.43 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 63 innings. Oh, yes, and he’s batting a lofty .560!
* Palm Beach Central defeated West Boca Raton, 9-2, to win the prestigious National Grand Slam Baseball Tournament for the third straight year at Florida Atlantic University. The champs went 4-0 during the tourney and presented coach Scott Benedict with his 400th victory along the way…The Broncos eliminated powerhouse American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 4-3, in eight innings during the semifinals. Slugger Eric Hosmer, expected to go high in the Major League draft, homered for the Patriots (17-2).
* When Ted Beneski played baseball at Suffield (West Suffield, Conn.) High School, he never had a home field. That’s why the 51-year-old Beneski, who is CEO and managing partner of a private equity firm in Texas (Inside Equities), is donating a cool $1.6 million so that by this August his old high school will have its own Field of Dreams. ..New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.) coach Mike Napoleon recently achieved his 600th career victory. He has won one state title and finished second twice.
Track Notes
* Morristown (N.J.) sensation Nick Vena began attacking outdoor shot put records over the weekend by turning in a 63-06 effort – which shattered national records for a freshman and for age-14 – during the Kearny (N.J.) Relays…Casey Kraychir (Twentynine Palms, Calif.) set a national sophomore hammer throw record with a toss of 176-01 during the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont, Calif.
* Jeff Demps, a University of Florida football recruit, brought big smiles to Gator fans when he ran a magnificent 10.17 (wind-legal) 100-meter dash at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. The South Lake (Groveland, Fla.) star now is tied for the No. 3 all-time clocking nationally and just missed Houston McTear’s Florida record of 10.16. The national record of 10.15 is shared by three sprinters.
* The Texas Relays in Austin drew a large crowd of 15,931 on Saturday. One of their favorites was Greenhill (Addison, Texas) freshman Chelsey Sveinsson, who set a high school meet record by winning the 1600-meter run in 4:44.70. For her efforts, she was named the meet’s outstanding high school performer.
* Switching to the Challenge of Champions in Mobile, Ala., Newnan, Ga., star Cholandra Goodman easily won the 100- and 200-meter dashes (11.54 and 23.93, respectively) and anchored the winning 400-meter relay. No wonder she was named the Outstanding Female Performer….The Outstanding Male Performer was Tyler Campbell of Cordova, Ala., who high jumped 7-0 to tie the meet record.
* Wisconsin’s State Indoor Meet produced an astonishing long jump of 24-10 ¾ by senior Marcus Jenkins of Milwaukee Bradley Tech. It was just two inches shy of the state record, which has stood since 1965, and was the best ever – including collegians – at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater Fieldhouse.
* Turning to California, Tynan Murray never had high jumped over 6-7 until he soared over the 7-foot mark as Poway competed in a dual meet at Mt. Carmel. The 6-1 Murray, who quarterbacked Poway to an undefeated football record last fall, is only the fifth San Diego Section jumper to reach 7-0. He is considering attending a community college so he can compete in both sports.
* Mason Finley of Buena Vista broke a 30-year-old Colorado state discus record with a heave of 202-10 despite cold and windy conditions at the Eagle Valley Invitational…Terrelle Pryor’s legendary athletic career at Jeannette, Pa., apparently is not yet over, because he’s going to run the 200-meter dash for the track team. He actually did run that event briefly as a freshman before AAU basketball lured him away.
* One of the nation’s premier hurdlers, Reggie Wyatt, may miss his junior year due to a transfer from North to La Sierra, both in Riverside, Calif. Wyatt is the holder of national 300-meter hurdles records for both a freshman and sophomore. He has 30 days to appeal to the state association.
Basketball Notes
* The Red All-Stars set a scoring record in a 114-79 victory over the White All-Stars during the 17th annual Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American Game in Tampa, Fla. Ursuline Academy (Wilmington, Del.) superstar Elena Delle Donne had 15 points and 11 rebounds, earning MVP honors for the Red stars. Teammate Tiffany Hayes of Winter Haven, Fla., was high scorer with 18 points. The White team MVP was Nneka Ogwumike of Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), who scored 17 points.
* April Sykes has been named Miss Basketball in Mississippi. The 5-11 senior forward, who had a 51-point game this year, took tiny Crawford East Oktibbeha (38 in the senior class) to one Class A state title and a pair of runner-up finishes. She will attend Rutgers… Mississippi’s Mr. Basketball is 6-9, 240-pound senior Rashanti Harris, who averaged 19.7 points, 15 rebounds and 4.5 blocks while shooting 65 percent from the field for Class 4A state champion Columbus New Hope. He was heavily recruited, but is headed for either prep school or junior college.
* In Illinois, Mr. Basketball honors went to 6-0 senior guard Kevin Dillard, who averaged 23.3 points, 5.6 assists, 5.1 steals and 4.3 rebounds for 27-2 Homewood-Flossmoor (Flossmoor). He has signed with Southern Illinois…DeShawn Painter, 6-9, who averaged 14.2 points and 10 rebounds as a junior at Booker T. Washington (Norfolk, Va.), is transferring to Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Va.) for his senior year…Scotty Hopson, the 6-6 blue-chip senior from University Heights Academy (Hopkinsville, Ky.), has made a commitment to the University of Tennessee.
* Brian Eagleson has resigned as coach after eight years at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, Calif. The 33-year-old coach took Mitty to the Division II state finals each of the last two years and compiled a 169-32 record during the past five years…Nick Kindel, an assistant coach at El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, Calif.) received a brand new Toyota Highlander for defeating three others in a skills challenge at halftime of a Lakers game.
Softball Notes
* It took 10 days and 21 innings, but Round Rock Stony Point finally eked out a 1-0 victory over Austin Westwood in a Texas marathon. Junior Ashley Kirk pitched a five-hitter and struck out 39 to get the hard-earned victory. Losing pitcher Brittany Mack, who allowed seven hits, also stuck out 39. Stacy Rosengreen singled in Brittany Garcia, who had reached second on an error and passed ball, with the winning run. The first day the game was played, it ended in an 18-inning scoreless tie due to a curfew rule.
* Switching to Arizona, Tucson Santa Rita junior Rosemary Anderson belted three home runs (two in the first inning) during a five-inning, 12-0 rout of city foe San Miguel. She drove in seven runs…In New Jersey, junior Nicole Pagano hammered a grand slam and three-run homer during a 10-run first inning as St. Joseph’s routed Wildwood Catholic, 14-1, in five innings.
* In another Texas gem, San Antonio Incarnate Word pitcher Savannah Sanchez struck out 18 – including nine of the first 10 to face her – en route to a 6-0, no-hit triumph over city foe Antonian…Turning to San Jose, Calif., Notre Dame-Belmont right-hander Emma Holden fanned 13 and fired a perfect game at the area’s top team, Presentation, during a 2-0 victory.
Football Notes
* Northwest Catholic (West Hartford, Conn.) junior Jake Golic is the first University of Notre Dame commitment for 2009. The 6-4, 210-pound wide receiver/defensive end is the fifth member of his family slated to play football for the Fighting Irish. His brother, Mike Jr., was the first Irish recruit for 2008. His father, Mike Sr., and uncles, Bob and Greg, also played for Notre Dame.
* Sherando (Stephens City, Va.) junior Ross Metheny has made a commitment to the University of Virginia. The 6-3, 200-pound quarterback passed for 2,207 yards and 24 touchdowns last fall…West Virginia has received a commitment from Leuzinger (Lawndale, Calif.) running back Mark Rodgers (5-9, 180), who ran for 2,319 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior.
* Meridian, Miss., junior quarterback Tyler Russell has made a commitment to Mississippi State. The 6-4, 198-pounder passed for 2,481 yards and 26 touchdowns last fall…Dexter Pratt, a running back from Navasota, Texas, has chosen LSU. The powerful 6-2, 220-pounder with good speed gained 2,054 yards and scored 20 touchdowns as a junior…Wake Forest has received a commitment from Nease (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) defensive tackle Frank Souza. The 6-4, 282-pounder had 101 tackles last fall, including 24 for loss, and recovered four fumbles.
* Eagleville, Tenn., has hired the state’s winningest coach as an assistant to new head coach Steve Carson. The latest newcomer, who truly knows his way around a football field, is 64-year-old Carlton Flatt, who had retired after compiling a 354-68-3 record and winning 10 state titles in 35 years at Brentwood Academy…The football scene at Norman, Okla., won’t be the same now that Butch Peters has retired after 35 seasons on the staff. As head coach the past 12 years, he posted a 73-54 record.
Potpourri
* Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) star Nolan Koon swam all 11 events during a dual meet against Ojai Nordhoff. He posted Division III automatic qualifying times in all eight individual events and also swam on three relays in less than two hours. He swam seven races unattached in lane seven and counted in the team score only in the 500-yard freestyle and the relays. He did set a school record of 21.66 in the 50-yard freestyle.
* Talk about an overachiever! Cardinal Ritter (Indianapolis, Ind.) senior Jordan Berty will graduate this spring with 16 varsity letters in four years. She played golf and soccer in the fall, swam during the winter and is playing her final tennis season this spring. To top it all off, she carries a glossy 4.4 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
* Bel Air John Carroll became the first Maryland school to beat 11-time defending Maryland lacrosse state champion Mount Hebron in 10 years. Down by four goals in the first half, John Carroll (7-0) roared back to post an impressive 17-9 triumph…Radnor, Pa., lacrosse coach Phyllis Kilgour recorded her 400th victory.
