Paul Skenes reacts to LSU's record-setting crowd in series opener vs. Tennessee

Thursday night’s game between LSU and Tennessee was one of the most anticipated college baseball games of the season as it featured two of the best pitchers in the game: Paul Skenes and Chase Dollinger.

Dollinger is the No. 2 prospect for the 2023 MLB Draft, according to MLB.com, while Skenes is the No. 4 prospect.

The matchup lived up to the hype as both pitchers pitched well — but it was Skenes who put on the masterclass at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

He went seven innings, giving up only one run and five hits while striking out 12 as LSU went on to win 5-2.

But he also did it in front of a record-setting crowd. There were 13,068 fans in attendance to watch the matchup Thursday night, the most ever at LSU’s 14-year-old field.

“I didn’t know that,” Skenes said ESPNU after the game on the crowd. “That’s cool. I think that’s a testament on what’s going on in the locker room and the type of dudes we have in there. You know, the character in the locker room. I think we have a lot of stuff going for us right now. A lot of stuff clicking and it’s really cool to be a part of.”

Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field has a capacity of 10,326 but regularly goes over that for big games. The previous record was 12,844 for a February 2018 game against Notre Dame.

Dollinger went 4.2 innings, giving up only two runs on four hits.

Paul Skenes is one of the early favorites for Player of the Year

LSU pitcher Paul Skenes has been absolutely electric this spring, which has been his first with the Tigers after transferring from Air Force.

Skenes has made seven starts of the season and has a 5-0 record in them. He has a remarkable 0.81 ERA and 0.61 WHIP while striking out 83 batters in 44.1 innings.

He is doing while displaying nasty stuff, too. In the first inning Thursday, he threw 10 consecutive fastballs of over 100 miles per hour.

Paul Skenes's Absurd Stuff from the 1st Inning.

10 Consecutive 100+mph Fastballs (T102mph) and a Wicked Slider. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/vjOqDbhlZD

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2023

The only reason he is not the clearcut favorite for National Player of the Year is his teammate and MLB.com No. 1 prospect Dylan Crews.

Crews has been sensational for the No. 1 Tigers. He has a unbelievable statline of a .529 batting average, .954 slugging percentage, nine home runs, 10 doubles, 27 walks, 48 runs and a 1.609 OPS.

The junior outfielder also extended his hitting streak to 24 games Thursday.