Skipworth wastes no time in setting record
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
Riverside Patriot catcher's line-drive single in first inning is his state-record 17th consecutive hit.
Kyle Skipworth of Riverside Patriot broke the state high school record for consecutive base hits Monday when he lined a single to right field in the bottom of the first inning against host Anaheim Canyon in a pool-play game at the OCNISSAN.COM Select Invitational.
The single was the 17th straight base hit for Skipworth, a 6-foot-4 left-handed hitting catcher who signed with Arizona State. He has also reached base in 24th straight plate appearances.
The previous state record for consecutive hits was set by Shane Mack of Cerritos Gahr in 1981. The national record is 22, set by Pat Simmons of Bradley (Ill.) Bradley-Bourbonnais in 82. Skipworth ties three other players for second on that list, heading into his next at-bat.
A senior who turned 18 on March 1, Skipworth achieved the record-breaking hit against Canyon left-hander Gabe Garcia, who started last season's Southern Section Division I final at Dodger Stadium.
Heading into Monday's game, Skipworth was batting .667 (32 for 48) with seven home runs and 27 runs batted in.
In his last five games, he was five for five against Palos Verdes Peninsula, four for four against Bloomington, one for one against Riverside Norte Vista and Rialto Kaiser and four for four against Fontana Summit.
After his sophomore season, Skipworth drove in a team-high 16 runs to help the U.S. youth national team take gold at the Pan American Championships in Venezuela. During his junior season, he hit .422 with eight home runs and 45 RBIs.
His stock as a potential professional player improved significantly over the summer and he is listed by various scouting services as a potential top five pick in June's amateur draft.
Last summer, Skipworth was selected to the AFLAC All-American game last summer, a showcase of the nation's top upcoming seniors, and he drove in three of his team's four runs.
Staff writer Eric Sondheimer and Eric Maddy contributed to this report.
dan.arritt@latimes.com
