It was a little more than a month ago that Tyler Skidmore had made his return to the pitching mound. It had been couple of years – since June 6 of 2014 to be exact – that Skidmore had last pitched in an organized baseball game.

 

Of course, many may remember that outing. Skidmore, who was a senior that season, pitched Bridgeport High School into the Class AA state title game by way of a 3-1 win against Chapmanville in the state semifinal contest.

 

That effort resulted in Skidmore finishing the year with a 5-0 record on the mound. Those numbers, along with batting over .400 and being one of the best defensive first basemen in the state, landed Skidmore Class AA All-State first team honors.

 

It also landed him something else. And that was a chance to continue playing baseball at Potomac State College. This past year, he finished his two-year stint at the two-year school and was ready to head down Interstate 79 to be a member of Glenville State College’s squad for the recently started collegiate school year.

 

“Things went really well at Potomac State as I was able to start both years despite battling injuries, in particular a hand strain. The good news was I was able to play and had a pretty good sophomore season,” said Skidmore, who said he also fared well in his business studies that have transferred to GSC with him. “I batted around .330 and had a .460 on-base percentage and felt good about my defense.”

He was feeling good about a lot of things. Most notable was the chance to continue doing the one thing he absolutely loves – the game of baseball.

 

When summer rolled around, Skidmore wasn’t too much unlike many others playing at some of the Mountain East Conference schools or other venues. He played summer league ball and since his coach at Glenville State said there was a possibility that he could throw out of the bullpen as a potential closer he figured the summer league was the time to get reacquainted with pitching.

 

“I really felt good warming up for my return to pitching even though I hadn’t thrown a competitive pitch since my final game in high school. That game was two years ago, but I didn’t even give it a thought,” said Skidmore.

 

As he headed to the mound on July 17 in a summer league game in Uniontown, PA, nothing seemed out of order as he delivered that first pitch. Four pitches later, everything would change. And things would change for a person so desperately wanting to play baseball in college that it was among the worst possible changes that could happen.

 

“On that fifth pitch I felt this pop in my elbow. It’s tough to describe the pain, but if I imagine if someone was going to put a knife through your elbow that’s what it would feel like,” said Skidmore. “I knew immediately I was done.”

 

His parents, he said, thought that it may not be that bad. Skidmore said he was convinced. A week later Skidmore was unfortunately correct when a medical examination confirmed what he was certain of – he had damaged his ulnar collateral ligament. For those playing baseball, and for those pitching specifically, it’s the type of news you don’t want.

 

“The one thing everyone was wrong on was that we all that it was a partial tear. It was a complete tear,” said Skidmore.

 

In short order, Skidmore was facing Tommy John surgery to make the fix. Dr. William Post took care of that in Morgantown and less than a month after suffering the injury Skidmore began rehabilitation this past Monday.

 

“This is up to a 12-month rehabilitation … The pain from the surgery was pretty bad. I was in bed for most of the first four or five days after surgery. I don’t even think I left the house for a week,” said Skidmore. “After that, I think it was once that I even left the house. Saturday (a week from yesterday) was the first time I was able to go out and feel normal.”

 

Normal, of course, with a huge brace on his right arm for at least the next six weeks. The brace will be in place for a while as will visits to Bridgeport Physical Therapy. Skidmore is so intent on making sure he returns 100 percent from this surgery that he opted to take on-line courses at Glenville State so he could give his full attention to recovery.

 

“I wanted to stay home to be able to get as much rehabilitation in as possible. At Glenville, they don’t have the care that I want. I’m biased, but I know I can get the best treatment from Mike (Martin), Jack (Spatafore) and Christa (Randolph). They’re the reason I’m staying and why I’ll be taking everything I can on-line,” said Skidmore. “I’m definitely going to play again and staying focused on rehab is a step to make sure that I’ll play again.”

 

For many that want to play, or continue playing, college baseball, Tommy John surgery often puts an end to those thoughts. For Skidmore, it’s only enhanced that baseball is what he wants to do for the next two years and hopefully build a career around.

 

“Quitting baseball never entered my mind, it was never an option. This is absolutely what I want to do because it’s what I love to do. I honestly don’t know how I’ll feel when I have to stop playing,” said Skidmore. “I’m majoring in business administration and minoring in sports management, or something along those lines with the hopes of maybe getting involved from a business standpoint to stay around baseball. That’s what I want to do and I don’t want anything to stand in the way.”

 

Not even major surgery.

 

Editor's Note: Top two photos show Tyler Skidmore working with Christa Randolph this past week at Bridgeport Physical Therapy, while his shown batting for Potomac State in photo submitted by his mother Maria Folio Skidmore. Bottom photo is from his senior season. BHS picture by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.