Paul Skenes shatters SEC strikeout record during College World Series matchup against Wake Forest
LSU star pitcher Paul Skenes has already established himself as one of the greatest pitchers in college baseball history. On Thursday night against Wake Forest in the 2023 College World Series, the LSU hurler added yet another historic page to his remarkable resume. He shattered the SEC single-season strikeout record that was previously set by former LSU star Ben McDonald (202 strikeouts) in 1989. In the second inning against the Demon Deacons, Skenes fired his third strikeout of the game, giving him 203 strikeouts for the season.
Check it out below as the LSU star becomes the SEC’s new strikeout king.
Thursday night’s pitching matchup between Skenes and Wake Forest ace Rhett Lowder was one of the most anticipated matchups in college baseball history.
The 6-foot-6, 247-pounder brought his best stuff on Saturday night against Tennessee when the Tigers needed it the most. His first seven pitches against the Vols were all clocked at over 100 miles per hour, once again flashing the unbelievable power in his arm.
In his last outing against the Vols, he’d already struck out seven batters through three innings. It was just another night’s work for the man many people are calling one of the best pitching prospects to come along in several years.
In 123 total pitches on Saturday night against Tennessee, he was clocked at 100 mph 46 times. His final eight strikeouts all came on fastballs. Once he left the mound in the eighth inning against Tennessee, Skenes had fired 12 strikeouts with one walk, while giving up just five hits and two earned runs.
During the regular season, he averaged over 15 strikeouts per game. Skenes’ impressive work on the mound has been just one of the many pieces that propelled LSU to their first CWS championship series appearance since 2017.
The LSU Tigers punched their tickets to face off against the Florida Gators for the national crown in a best-of-three series, after Tommy White belted a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning.
If there was one way to describe Thursday’s game, it was a pitching duel. Everyone spent the day hyping the matchup between Paul Skenes and Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder. Not only did the matchup deliver but it went further than anyone could imagine. Something college baseball fans will not forget for a long time.
Lowder went seven innings and was pulled while his pitch count was still relatively low. Skenes was extended a little more, going into the eighth inning and surpassing 100 pitches. Neither gave up a run before their respective head coaches turned to the bullpen.
The matchup lived up to the hype and then some. For college baseball fans the 2023 version of the College World Series simply can’t get much better. Nearly every game has been closely contested in Omaha and it’s nice to see it play out that way.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.