Player Diary 1.24.18

Welcome to the 2018 Potomac State Baseball player diary homepage. This season, Sophomore's Mitchell Henshaw (Brockport High School / Brockport, NY), and Jeff Wong (George Washington High School / Charleston, WV) will take the lead on the Potomac State Baseball Player Diary. Note: Wong's entry will be in bold font.

Welcome back Catamount fans! In this week's player diary, I will be interviewing the very players that you will be watching this upcoming spring. I sat down with freshman infielder, Austin Chavis (Bell Air, MD/Calvert Hall) where I will introduce the new rapid-fire question segment. Austin will also be talking about this upcoming season, and how college life has treated him so far. Make sure you click on the link below to watch the interview!

For this section of the diary, you are going to be able to learn some high-quality information on some of our players. In this chat, I will be making a quick trip right across the hall to talk with a few of my good buddies Jacob Callaway (Belle Vernon, PA/Bella Vernon Area), David McQuain (Fairmont, WV/East Fairmont), and Abe Stearns (Leon, WV/Point Pleasant).

What is your favorite experience so far here at Potomac State?

Jacob Callaway: "It was the fourth weekend of the fall after one of our intrasquad games, and a bunch of kids on the team made the grueling hike up to Queens Point. This is a scenic overlook of Keyser, WV and what it has to offer. I thought it was really cool how you could see the Potomac River separating Maryland and West Virginia. It was outstanding to be so high up in the mountains, and still be able to see good ole' Golden Park shining in the distance."

Abe Stearns and David McQuain: "I would have to say it was the time when David, Tanner Lambert (Morgantown, WV/East Fairmont), and I went to Springdale. A town located off the South branch of the Potomac River. Tanner's grandparents lease a camp on the river, and we all were in kayaks floating down the south branch for 5 miles while catching some beautiful native smallmouth bass. Of course, I was using the 4" smoakin' purple Gary Yamamto Senko, A.K.A. the smallmouth magnet."-Abe Stearns

"My favorite part was about mid-way through the trip when I looked up and saw freedom flying above us; it was a beautiful bald eagle. I reeled in my fishing pole as I watched it soar across the blue sky. That is when I heard the miraculous screech of freedom, and a lone tear rolled down my cheek. I felt about 1776% American that day. Beautiful."-David McQuain

If you could be any MLB player, who would it be? Why?

Abe Stearns: "I would want to be Pete Rose. I think he played the game the right way, minus his managing career. His nickname was Charlie Hustle for a reason, he was always balls to the walls. He played the game 100% every single day and that is why I do not think anyone will ever beat his all-time hits record of 4,256."

David McQuain: "I would have to say Cal Ripken Jr. because I think he was one of the best infielders of all-time. To be able to play 2,632 consecutive games, he must have been one tough player and that is something I look up to."

Jacob Callaway: "My pick would be Derek Jeter. The thing I admire about him is that he is a natural born leader, that is why his nickname is 'The Captain'. His whole career has basically been a story book. I love the way he keeps his cool in every situation that had been thrown upon him. He is known as one of the most clutch hitters of all-time. My last memory I have of him was the walk-off single he had hit against the Baltimore Orioles in his last career game at Yankee Stadium."

That will be it for this week's edition, stay tuned next week for more new features and videos of current Catamounts. Feel free to follow the team on Twitter @PotomacStateBB and Instagram @potomacstatebaseball. You can also follow me on Twitter @mhenshaw4 for some exclusive coverage of the team. If you have any questions or comments about the player diaries you can email me at mjh0025@mix.wvu.edu. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

Tanner Skidmore, is the subject of this week’s Potomac State Player Diary.  Tanner was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia where his family still lives today. He is a sophomore here at Potomac State and is set to be a big piece of the pitching rotation in the 2018 season. Standing 6’5” and weighing 225 pounds, Skidmore is an imposing figure on the mound. However, he was not always a pitcher, in fact he has not been pitching for that long at all.

At Broadway High School in Harrisonburg, Tanner played short stop, and had done so for his entire life. With increasing arm strength, his high school coaches tried him out on the mound. Starting out, Tanner only had true command of his fastball. Being effective with command of only one pitch at the high school level, he committed to become a refined, strike throwing pitcher that can dominate hitters at the college level. Tanner needed a step in between high school and Division 1 NCAA, which was his goal.

Tanner played for the Evoshield Seminoles travel team during the summers in high school under Coach Mike Smith. Smith is a friend of Coach Little’s and contacted him with Tanner. Former Assistant Coach Kuykendall traveled to see Skidmore pitch and initiated the recruiting process.

“I wanted to play at a solid program where I could get to the next level. Coach Little being a Hall of Famer, it was a no brainer,” Skidmore said when asked why he chose Potomac State. “This program has a great history of winning and a lot of good players have gone on to play at high level Division 1 programs and some have gotten drafted.”

The Catamounts have been to the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado on four different occasions.  We are working very hard to preserve and advance the tradition of the program and hopefully leave our mark on the program in a positive way. Tanner has worked tirelessly for the past year and half to get the point in progression that he is at now.

“The hardest thing to learn about pitching, for me, was figuring out how to locate pitches at the knees consistently. I was only good in high school because I got my ball to run a lot, so hitters would have a problem hitting me,” ‘Skid’ said when asked what the hardest thing was for him when learning how to pitch. A lot of time and a lot of repetition has gotten Skid to the point where he can command 3 different pitches.

Over the past summer and over winter break, Tanner traveled to Tyson’s Corner, Virginia to train at ‘Research and Development’ training facility. This facility is teeming with the latest technology in performance training and arm maintenance for pitchers. The latest knowledge and routines are implemented into personalized programs for each athlete. He has honed his mechanics and, in turn, his command.

This past fall, Skidmore started to attract the attention of various college scouts, including Valparaiso University, where he eventually committed and signed to. Valpo first saw Tanner pitch in early October, and he went on an official visit later in the month. Shortly after the visit, in early November, he committed and signed his letter of intent.

Here at Potomac State, Tanner is studying physical education and plans to pursue a degree in Kinesiology. With a 3.16 cumulative GPA combined with his ability on the baseball field, he has earned a full scholarship to attend Valparaiso University, which reflects Tanner’s work ethic and will to do and be better. He has aspirations of ultimately starting his own construction company building homes.

Posed for a big year, Tanner Skidmore has prepared tirelessly and vigorously in order to make sure his body and mind is in the best possible shape they can be in. With the pressure and stress of recruitment out of the way, Tanner can focus on performing and pitching to the best of his ability.