Ben McDonald reacts to Paul Skenes breaking his long-standing SEC strikeout record
LSU put its ace starting pitcher Paul Skenes on the mound against Wake Forest in a crucial game where the winner would advance to the College World Series Finals with the loser being eliminated. All Skenes did was go out and pitch the game of his life and break an SEC record in the process.
Skenes entered the game with 200 strikeouts. That was just shy of the SEC season strikeout record of 202, which was owned by Ben McDonald, a former LSU ace. Skenes broke that record in just the second inning.
McDonald then took to Twitter, where he reacted to his strikeout record being broken.
“Records are made to be broken…it gives dreamers something to strive for!” McDonald tweeted. “Never easy to see ur record broken but it’s a lot sweeter when it stays in the @LSUbaseball family…congrats to @Paul_Skenes you deserve it kid! Now….Geaux win it all! #4everLSU.”
If McDonald could have chosen anyone to break his record, Skenes may very well have been his choice. As another LSU Tiger, the SEC single-season strikeout leader still pitched in Baton Rouge.
Skenes also broke the record in spectacular fashion. He pitched eight shutout innings against Wake Forest, matching and surpassing the Demon Deacons’ ace, Rhett Lowder. He added nine strikeouts total to his tally too, breaking the record when he hit 203 on the season and setting the record at 209.
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LSU is advancing to the College World Series Finals. There, the Tigers will take on the Florida Gators. If Skenes pitches in that series, it will be on short rest.
The improvements that Paul Skenes made in his game
During the 2023 season, Paul Skenes has been playing on a whole new level, transitioning from being a relief pitcher with Air Force to a starter with LSU. To be able to do this, he made several improvements in his game.
“I’ve gotten stronger, grown in my body a little bit. A lot of it has been sleep and recovery, nutrition. I figured out some more stuff about how my body needs to move. Figuring out my sequencing, figuring out where my chest needs to be at the right time and that kind of thing. A lot of it was based on my chest,” Skenes said.
“To be honest, it is simple if you do it for a long period of time, I think. I knew the importance of it. Honestly, I got some more resources that helped me figure out exactly what I needed to do to move more efficiently.”