Eastern Illinois University Athletics

2009: Skidmore played in 49 games and started 48 times at third base… batted third in the lineup in every game he started… registered 24 of his 49 RBIs with two outs to lead the team… ranked second on the squad in runs scored and walks… one of four regulars that walked more than he struck out… reached base safely in 44 of the 49 games he played… one of four Panthers to hit 10-plus homers… batted .371 with 16 RBIs in OVC play… was 4-for-9 with the bases loaded… reached base safely to begin an inning 49 percent of the time… batted .339 with runners in scoring position and .422 with two outs in an inning… posted a 10-game hitting streak in April, his longest as a Panther… batted .368 with a team-high seven doubles at home… hit seven of his 11 homers and walked more than he struck out in true road games… accounted for 40 runs (19 scored, 21 RBIs) thanks to a .347 average in March… led the team with a .418 average and .791 slugging percentage in April… led the way in midweek action with nine home runs, 24 RBIs and 18 runs scored… recorded 21 RBIs and committed only one error during the 13-game win streak… batted .379 and struck out only once in 37 plate appearances during the 10-game homestand… registered a career-high six hits and five runs scored in the rubber game win at UT Martin, the highest single-game hit total of the year by a Panther… finished the UT Martin series 9-for-15 with four RBIs and seven runs scored… went deep twice in wins at Chicago State and against Saint Louis… connected for a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning of the win at Illinois… that was the middle game of a stretch in which he homered in three straight contests… knocked in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning single in the OVC Tournament game against Murray State… plated the go-ahead run in the nightcap of the SEMO doubleheader with a two-out double en route to finishing the day 3-for-8 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs scored… had four hits and scored twice in the win at Southern Illinois… registered a season-high five RBIs in wins against Chicago State and Indiana State.

2008: Skidmore played in 54 games and started 50 times, exactly half at third base and half as the designated hitter… ended the year as the starting third baseman, starting 15 of the final 16 games of the year at the hot corner… ranked second on the team in home runs and walks… left-handed hitter feasted on southpaw pitching, batting a team-best .485 (16-for-33)… batted .356 (21-for-59) with two outs… one of two Panthers to record a two-, three-, four- and five-RBI effort… batted third and fourth in the lineup a team-high 20 times each… batted .304 with 13 RBIs in neutral-site action… bounced back from a poor April to bat .350 with a team-high 19 RBIs in May… went 5-for-17 with six RBIs at the OVC Tournament, driving in three runs without the luxury of a hit in the championship game against Southeast Missouri… hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the third inning of the NCAA Regional game at Nebraska… also reached base safely three times in the Regional contest against Oral Roberts… was involved in both sets of EIU’s back-to-back home runs (at Murray State and at Indiana State)… hit a ninth-inning grand slam in the series opener against Southeast Missouri, the first slam by a Panther since March 2005… also went deep in the spring break trip win against IPFW… heated up as EIU returned from spring break, hitting safely in seven straight games and 11 of 12 in late March and early April… collected four RBIs, including three of the two-out variety in his first two at-bats, in the blowout win against Illinois in Mattoon… knocked in five of EIU’s seven runs in the game-one loss in the SEMO series… started a key 5-2-3 double play with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth inning of the series-opening win against Austin Peay… registered a season-high four hits in the series opener at Eastern Kentucky, three coming against All-American lefty Christian Friedrich… scored three times in the must-win game at EKU to close the regular season… reached base safely four times and knocked in a pair of runs in the victory against Jacksonville State at the OVC Tournament.

JUNIOR COLLEGE: He was a First Team All-American for coach Mitch Rosenthall, a former EIU player and assistant, at Parkland College in Champaign… also garnered Mid-West Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors after being the Freshman of the Year in 2006… was also named Region Player of the Year and Parkland’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2007.

HIGH SCHOOL: He lettered in baseball, hockey and golf – playing baseball for coach Fred Bencriscutto… earned all-area, All-Fox Valley Conference and team MVP honors.

PERSONAL: No. 1 sports highlight was winning the 2008 OVC Tournament title… his family has been a major influence on his sports career because "they always supported and encouraged me to do my best"… most admires NHL Hall of Famer Bobby Orr because "he is one of the greatest of all-time"… son of Jay Skidmore and Carol Beaulieu… MAJOR: Kinesiology & Sports Studies.