Paul Skenes carries Alex Milazzo to LSU dogpile following earlier shin injury

Only one thing went wrong on Monday night for LSU. Catcher Alex Milazzo went down with an injury while attempting to score at the plate. Milazzo’s father later revealed he broke his shin and thankfully, no surgery will be required. Even so, he was able to watch the rest of the game from the dugout.

LSU went on to put Florida to bed and win another national championship. As is tradition at the College World Series, a dogpile began to commence. With Milazzo suffering his injury, he needed some help getting to the mound to celebrate with his teammates.

Paul Skenes decided to let Milazzo catch a ride, carrying him on his back to the dogpile. An incredible moment between the two, showing how close LSU has been throughout the entire season. In a moment where Skenes could have sprinted out there, he decided to wait a moment and think about his teammate.

You can watch the full moment here.

LSU catcher Alex Milazzo fractured his shin and had to the leave the national championship game early.

Paul Skenes made sure his catcher was able to join the celebration in the middle of the field 💜pic.twitter.com/Q8gGMmHEy8

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 27, 2023

Those looking to draft Skenes in a few days will be happy to know he did not end up at the bottom of the dog pile. He was near the top, jumping up and down while celebrating with his fellow LSU players. His friend just needed to catch a ride on the way there — shin injury or no shin injury.

Milazzo and Skenes had plenty of moments together this season. And the piggyback ride may be the best of them all. However, there is a close second with the performance of Thursday’s championship game-clinching win against Wake Forest.

Skenes came in to pitch in a must-win game on just four days of rest — something he has not done for LSU all season. He only went on to throw 120 pitches and absolutely dominated a talented Demon Deacons lineup. Eight innings with no earned runs on just two hits, one walk, and an incredible nine strikeouts.

Behind the plate was Milazzo, helping him call the game. Whenever pitchers are able to go out there and dominate an opponent, the catchers play a huge role in it as well. Especially when facing No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest over 120 pitches.

In the middle of the performance, both players were likely not thinking about their national championship celebration. While the moment comes due to an injury from Milazzo, it’s an incredible one he and Paul Skenes will share for the rest of their lives.