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Skundrick tames temper, foes By DON HUNT Matt Skundrick has emerged as one of the top baseball players in the state this season. The South Medford High senior has pitched a no-hitter and a three-hitter. He has struck out as many as 16 batters in one game and 13 in another. He carries a 1.56 earned run average and 413 batting average. And when he's not pitching, he's playing solidly at shortstop. Skundrick is also coming off a rare feat, having won both ends of a doubleheader against cross-town rival North Medford last Saturday that left the Panthers atop the Southern Oregon Conference with a 6-0 record heading into today's twin bill at Ashland. Skundrick is proud of his accomplishments with his arm and his bat. But he's most proud of something else: Controlling his temper. "It took me awhile to figure it all out," Skundrick says. "I used to stomp around on the mound if someone made an error or throw my bat or helmet if I struck out. "But all that does is upset everyone and make you look stupid. All that does is hurt your team." South Medford coach Pete Whisler pulled Skundrick into his office a few times over the past two seasons, scolding him for his latest outburst and warning him that future transgressions wouldn't be tolerated. Some athletes seem incapable of overcoming their moodiness and flare-ups - Rasheed Wallace comes to mind - but Skundrick knew he had a problem and was determined to overcome it. His maturity level grew noticeably while pitching for the Medford Mustangs American Legion team last summer, and Whisler saw a big change when practice kicked off for the current high school season. "We've only got three seniors on this team and he's one of them," Whisler says. "I told him early-on that he needed to be one of our leaders, and that to be a leader you can't be losing your cool in game situations. Or any situation, for that matter." Armed with his new attitude and three pitches he can throw for strikes, Skundrick has taken the SOC by storm. He fired a three-hit shutout and struck out 13 in a 5-0 victory over Klamath Union on April 2. Then came the first no-hitter of his career vs. Grants Pass on April 7. Skundrick allowed a first-inning run in that game when he walked a couple of batters and gave up a sacrifice fly, but mowed down the Cavemen the rest of the way with 16 strikeouts en route to an 8-1 victory. Skundrick seemed on the verge of losing his first conference game last Saturday when North Medford built a 5-1 lead over the Panthers after 31/2 innings, but South rallied for five runs in the bottom of the frame and went on to an 8-5 win. Skundrick also notched the second-game victory against the Tornado to improve his season record to 4-2. "He lost a couple of games early this season to a couple of good teams (Sheldon and Oregon City), but Matt really hasn't had a bad outing all year," says Whisler, whose team takes an overall record of 9-8 into today's doubleheader against Ashland. "We've handed him the ball and we've had a chance to win every time he's been on the mound." Skundrick's fastball has been clocked at a respectable 86 mph, but it's his off-speed deliveries - slider and changeup - that have turned him into one of the better pitchers in the state. "I used to go out there and basically just throw as hard as I could," Skundrick says. "You can strike out certain guys doing that, but the good hitters will start timing your fastball. "This year I've gone to the slider and changeup a lot. You can really mess guys up if you can throw your off-speed stuff for strikes." In 40� innings, Skundrick has allowed 25 hits while striking out 61 and walking 22. His offensive statistics are just as impressive: a .413 batting average, eight doubles, one homer, one triple and 14 RBIs in the Panthers' 17 games. And maybe the best stat of all: zero temper tantrums. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.