Southeast Missourian co-player of the year: Scott City's Skylar Cobb

For Scott City senior Skylar Cobb, the high school baseball season was something of a victory lap, a time to show off all he'd learned and put on display, the results of a lot of work done with no one watching.

And did he ever.

Cobb, the co-Southeast Missourian player of the year, pitched a no-hitter during the regular season and a perfect game in district play but counts neither as his best performance in a season that has netted him three player of the year honors and a couple of all-state selections.

"That's the main thing," Cobb said. "You have the hard work that you've done the last four years and then here my senior year, it's paying off big time. I'm really just grateful to all the people who have helped me get to this spot."

One of the central figures in Cobb's career has been Scott City coach Lance Amick, who has served as Cobb's weightlifting partner for the last year.

Scott City senior Skylar Cobb played center field when he wasn't pitching. He plans to play at Three Rivers Community College next season. (KIT DOYLE)

"It's just nice in our world now that you get every now and then the kids that work the hardest get all the awards," Amick said. "It's not always that way, and it's nice when you have the kids on your team that work the hardest get all the accolades."

Cobb, who has committed to play for Three Rivers Community College next year, was 8-1 with a 1.10 ERA on the mound. He struck out 95 batters while walking only 18. When he wasn't on the mound, Cobb spent the majority of his time in center field, where he excels defensively.

"He's put in a lot, a lot of hours," Amick said. "There were a lot of days when he'd get done with a basketball practice and come in and throw a bullpen right after that, and he's spent a lot of hours to earn this stuff. We're going to appreciate every minute of it, and he's earned it. That's just the bottom line."

Mostly hitting in the No. 3 spot in the lineup, Cobb batted .426 with 26 RBIs and 22 runs scored to go along with 10 stolen bases.

"I knew I was going to be the guy -- like the ace -- and hit in the middle of the lineup," Cobb said. "I knew that. I had to do a lot to help my team win. I had to be the leader of the team mainly."

Scott City's Skylar Cobb went 8-1 on the mound this season.

Cobb proved to be an ideal leader for a team that relied heavily on young players during a 17-5 season because he had plenty of experience being the young guy on the team.

"My sophomore year, I was nervous all the time because we were really good. Really good," Cobb said, referring to the team's state championship season. "I didn't want to mess anything up. I was just the sophomore out there. It was great, though. Looking back on that year, I don't really remember much. That's something that I kind of regret because I didn't really enjoy that year as much as I wish I would've."

More than once Cobb said that learning to relax on the field improved his play.

"Once I realized that I was out there because I was good enough to be out there," Cobb said when asked at what point he banished his nerves. "You get older. You're playing guys you know. You can just relax and play and have fun. Just play the game."

Cobb pitched a no-hitter against East Prairie during the regular season before kicking off district play with a perfect game against Kelly. But the highlight of the season for him was his 17-strikeout shutout of Charleston in the district championship game.

"The perfect game, that was awesome, but the district championship game, from the first inning, it was really intense," Cobb said. "It had a playoff atmosphere. It was just great and it was really fun to be a part of. It was something that I'll remember for a long time."

Cobb, who was pitching on three days of rest, stranded 11 Charleston runners in the 3-0 win, including seven over the final three innings.

"It was really hard to get through," Cobb said. "I threw like 125 pitches, I think, and that last inning was all on adrenaline probably."

While Cobb's stuff often proved overpowering on the mound, Amick said that wasn't Cobb's greatest strength.

"The mental part of the game is what Skylar really succeeds with," he said. "He understands what somebody does well and he really tries to go at that and exploit weaknesses. And even more simple than that is not try to allow them to do what they're good at.

"He's one of the few overpowering pitchers that you face that really can hit a lot of spots as far as working in and out, up and down. He understands counts and what pitches will be good in what counts and he did all of this with a freshman catcher, too. A lot of people don't realize that."

Cobb, always soft-spoken and unassuming, shied away from the idea that all his time spent in the weight room and on the field would serve as an example for future Rams.

"I don't know about that, but I hope so," he said. "If you want to look at it like that, but I just wanted to try to win games."