When LSU takes the field at Alex Box Stadium on Friday afternoon against Tulane to begin the Baton Rouge Regional, it will do so with the National Player of the Year on the mound.
In a fairly surprising decision, Tigers coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] announced that ace [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] will get the start at pitcher against Tulane, which is just 19-40 but got hot at the right time and captured the American Athletic Conference tournament title.
It was expected that Skenes would be saved for a potentially tougher matchup later in the weekend, but the Tigers will look to secure an opening win and put themselves in the winners’ bracket on Saturday.
Paul Skenes will start for LSU today #LSU
— Leah Vann (@LVann_Sports) June 2, 2023
Skenes, who was also named a First Team All-American after transferring in from Air Force last offseason, is 10-2 on the season with a 1.89 earned run average. A projected top-two pick in this summer’s MLB draft, Skenes’ 167 strikeouts this season is the second-highest single-season mark at LSU behind Ben McDonald’s 202 in 1989.
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