Paul Skenes throws complete game as LSU breezes by Tulane in Baton Rouge Regional

The LSU baseball team got off to an excellent start in the Baton Rouge Regional against a local adversary, downing Tulane 7-2 to move into the winner’s bracket. A terrific start on the mound by ace Paul Skenes certainly helped.

Skenes went the distance, recording his first complete game in a game not decided by run rule.

It wasn’t a sure thing he’d get there, with his pitch count exceeding 100 going into the final frame. But he wasn’t going to be talked out of the chance to finish things off, even if he wasn’t sure he’d get that opportunity.

“Not until I went into the dugout for the eighth (did I know),” Skenes said. “I said, ‘I want it,’ and (coach Jay Johnson) said, ‘OK.'”

When he ran out to the field for the final frame, he did so in front of a massive crowd at Alex Box Stadium chanting his name. The fans were urging him on, hoping to see him close out the complete game in the Baton Rouge Regional.

“I had goosebumps the whole inning,” Skenes said. “It was awesome to run out and hear them cheering. That was one of the coolest moments of my career.”

Not only did Skenes retire the side in the ninth inning to close it out, but he did it throwing the heat. He topped 100 miles per hour on his 121st pitch in the game, showing remarkable resilience.

Skenes finished the game giving up just seven hits and two runs, while he struck out 12 to extend his nation-leading tally to 179 strikeouts. He also turned in a web gem with a play he made through his legs.

“It was nice to start it off like that, protect the bullpen,” Skenes said. “We’ve got a really good guy going tomorrow and we’ve got a lot of good arms out of the pen, so it sets us up nice for the rest of the regional.”

With the win, LSU will advance to face the winner of tonight’s game between Oregon State and Sam Houston. The winner’s bracket game will take place at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday.

And the Tigers are in great shape thanks to Skenes, who was near his best in the Baton Rouge Regional opener. The ace pitcher credited a little extra time off following the SEC Tournament with helping him get sharp again.

“Honestly having a little bit of a longer week helped, getting home,” Skenes said. “Because last week it was a little bit of a body thing, so it was nice figuring out my mechanics a little bit. Worked on that throughout the week.”