Among Paul Skenes’ 13 starts in an LSU uniform, it’s tough to choose his best outing.
There’s his previous start, a 15-strikeout masterpiece in which Skenes shut out Auburn in 7⅓ innings. Or maybe his March 24 start against No. 6 Arkansas, when he allowed only one run and two hits and struck out 12 in seven innings.
He added another contender Friday night in LSU’s series-opening 12-1 win over Mississippi State at Alex Box Stadium.
Skenes struck out 10 of the first 13 batters he faced, including the first six who stepped to the plate. The Bulldogs didn’t record their first hit of the night until the fifth inning.
Skenes also pitched all seven innings in LSU’s run-rule victory, tallying 13 strikeouts along the way. He allowed three hits and one earned run.
It was an equally strong night at the plate for the Tigers (39-10, 17-7 SEC). In the first inning, leadoff hitter Gavin Dugas cranked the first pitch he saw into the left-field bleachers.
In the second, the Tigers plated four runs. Brayden Jobert and Jordan Thompson smashed back-to-back homers into opposite ends of the outfield. Then Dugas hit a triple with a high fly ball that landed just inside the right-field boundary. After Tre’ Morgan’s sacrifice fly sent him home, LSU had a 5-0 lead.
For Skenes, that was more than enough run support.
He was methodical and efficient in his dominance, pairing filthy breaking balls with his signature speed and power. He needed only 15 pitches to retire the side in the first inning.
The second batter for the Bulldogs (24-24, 6-19) faced his fastest pitch of the night, which touched 101 miles per hour (mph). Then the last batter of the first went down looking, as Skenes’ breaking ball curved over the plate, clocking in at 86 mph.
The second inning ended after only 11 pitches. Before Mississippi State’s five-hole hitter Kellum Clark struck out, he could muster only a slow, half-hearted whack at an 88 mph changeup. It was Skenes 145th punch-out of the year, moving him into ninth in LSU history for single-season strikeouts. He ended the night seventh on the all-time list.
The Bulldogs plated their one and only run in the sixth inning, when Ross Highfill hit a solo homer just over the left-field wall.
LSU added seven runs to their lead across the sixth and seventh innings. The first three hitters — Alex Milazzo, Dugas and Morgan — notched base hits, loading the bases for Dylan Crews, who walked in the sixth run.
Tommy White had a base hit through the right side of the infield for the seventh run. Cade Beloso added the eighth with a sacrifice fly to right field.
In the seventh, Morgan had a two-run single before White ended the game with a two-run home run.
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