When LSU begins super regional play against Kentucky on Saturday, it will have a massive advantage in the form of [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag].
The Tigers’ ace is the best pitcher in the country, and he’s been incredibly tough to beat this season. The Wildcats made him look a bit human when they faced him earlier this year, but he still managed to get the win.
Kentucky pitcher Austin Strickland talked about what makes Skenes so special as a player.
“Not only does he throw hard but he’s got a fastball that runs a lot,” Strickland said per On3. “And so when — his ability to control the strike zone like that is really incredible. So just watching him, I just want to emulate that as much as I can. Just put my pitches in and out of the zone when I need to and let the chips fall where they may.”
Skenes has a 1.90 earned run average on the season, which ranks fourth nationally, and his walks and hits per innings pitched of 0.79 leads the nation. With 179 strikeouts on the year, he’s also far and away the best pitcher in the nation in terms of strikeouts per nine innings at 16.22.
“He’s just been absolutely incredible this year,” Strickland said. “And when you have a fastball with his velocity and his life, some really quality offerings. One of the things that I look at when I watch him is just how he can repeat it, how he can do it so consistently.”
Skenes is likely to get the nod on the bump when LSU begins the Baton Rouge Super Regional against Kentucky, and the Tigers will hope for another big-time outing from the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy finalist.
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