Skinner named state's top player

Mountain Home Lady Tiger pitcher Nickayla Skinner has been selected as the 2009-10 Gatorade Idaho Softball Player of the Year.

At the recent team awards banquet Mountain Home Lady Tiger softball coach Chris Asbury indicated the award would probably be coming, but at the time he had not received the official word. Now it is official.

Skinner, who plans on attending the College of Idaho and playing softball, went 25-1 pitching this past year, striking out 328 batters and having a 0.82 earned run average.

The two-time 4A Southern Idaho Conference Player of the Year also excelled at the plate, hitting .653 on the season with 19 doubles, 17 home runs and 72 RBI, helping the Lady Tigers win their second straight 4A state softball title.

"It's fitting that Nick gets the award," said Coach Asbury. "She's had an incredible high school career, and we expect her to do well at C of I."

During the annual softball awards banquet earlier this month, Skinner also was named as conference player of the year.

For the second year in a row, the Mountain Home Lady Tigers won the State 4A Softball Champion. After falling to Kuna in the semi-finals, Mountain Home won three games -- beating Kuna twice -- to win the title.

Last year, the Lady Tigers brought home the first team state championship in Mountain Home High School's history.

"It took more than a hundred years to get our first championship," said Principal Jeff Johnson. "Now we have two in less than a year."