Hitting streak was like a day at the beach for Patriot’s Skipworth

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Kyle Skipworth of Riverside Patriot High set 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 of the OCNissan.com Select Invitational.

The single was the 17th straight hit in a row for Skipworth, a 6-foot-4 left-handed-hitting catcher who signed with Arizona State. He picked up his 18th hit in a row in the second inning, when he grounded a single into right field. Skipworth was caught looking at a third strike in the fourth inning, ending his streak of reaching base in 25 consecutive at-bats, also a state record.

Since beginning the streak, Skipworth said the baseball, ‘’looks like a beach ball,’’ when he’s at the plate. ‘’I was just having quality at-bats, day in and day out,’’ he said. ‘’

The previous state mark for consecutive hits was 16, set by Shane Mack of Cerritos Gahr in 1981, according to CalHiSports.com. The national record is 22, set by Pat Simmons of Bradley (Ill.) Bradley-Bourbonnais in 1982. Skipworth is second on that list, with three tied at 17. While there apparently is no national record for reaching base in consecutive at-bats, the state record had been 17, set by Steve Dailey of Ventura in 1988 and Luke Quaccia of Oakdale in 1993.

A senior who turned 18 on March 1, Skipworth achieved his record-breaking hit against Canyon left-hander Gabe Garcia, who started last season’s Southern Section Division I final at Dodger Stadium. He touched the Canyon pitcher again for his second hit, but Garcia finally got him out with the fourth-inning strikeout. Skipworth grounded to second in his last at-bat of the Patriot’s 11-5 loss to Canyon (7-6). The Warriors are 15-1.

Canyon Coach Joe Hoggatt said they tried to keep Skipworth off-balance and challenge him on the outside part of the plate. ‘’He’s an 18-year-old kid, he’s not a 25-year-old Rafael Palmeiro,’ Hoggatt said in reference to the former major league slugger. ‘We just decided, ‘Hey, if we’re going to go hard, we’re going to go away.’’

Skipworth is now batting .654 (34 for 52) with seven home runs and 27 runs batted in.

-- Dan Arritt

-- Image by Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times