How long should LSU baseball ace Paul Skenes pitch v. Wake Forest in College World Series?

OMAHA, Neb. — It all comes down to Thursday.

LSU baseball is one win away from making the 2023 College World Series final. The Tigers (51-16) — thanks to a three-run home run from Cade Beloso and brilliant performances out of the bullpen from Griffin Herring, Gavin Guidry and Riley Cooper — took down Wake Forest (54-11) on Wednesday, 5-2, to force a second and season-deciding game on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2).

The victory now begs the question: Will Tigers ace Paul Skenes be able to pitch in the biggest game LSU has played in six years?

And if so, for how long?

"We'll talk to him tonight. I think it's a day-by-day deal," Johnson said. "We have a pre-throw process that we go through with pitchers and their availability and testing and recovery and all of those types of things. So we still need to go through that tomorrow before we make any decision."

Skenes declined to be interviewed after the Tigers' win on Wednesday.

If Skenes were to throw Thursday, it would be on the shortest rest he's had in between outings this season: four days. The shortest number of days Skenes has had in between starts so far this season is five.

He also threw 123 pitches in his last start on Saturday vs. Tennessee, the second most pitches he's thrown in a game this season. Skenes' season-high pitch count is 124 pitches against Tulane at the Baton Rouge Regional.

The same question LSU fans have posed about Skenes, Wake Forest fans can also ask about Demon Deacons ace Rhett Lowder. If Lowder throws on Thursday, it would also be on four days rest after he threw 100 pitches on Saturday against Stanford.

It's unlikely that Skenes or Lowder will be available to throw at or around 100 pitches on Thursday, as they usually do. But it would be surprising if one, or neither, pitched with a trip to the College World Series final on the line, especially since both starters already throw short bullpens in between starts.

Granted, winning on Thursday does not guarantee LSU or Wake Forest a national title. Florida will be a difficult foe for either in the final after the Gators beat TCU 3-2 on Wednesday to punch its ticket. That's even if, obviously, neither team can make the final unless they win on Thursday.

However, if Lowder and Skenes keep their pitch counts low on Thursday — roughly 20 pitches — they could also theoretically be ready to start a potential Game 1 of the CWS final on Saturday.

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Riley Cooper's rubber arm

After throwing 40 pitches in LSU's elimination game win over Tennessee on Tuesday, Cooper was surprisingly back out on the mound to close out a potential Tigers win on Wednesday.

And the left-handed relief ace delivered, allowing no hits and no runs in 1⅓ innings pitched to close out the victory against the Demon Deacons.

"I think when you're physical and bigger and stronger, he's one of the strongest guys, pound for pound, on the team, you tend to recover better," Johnson said. "That's part of what makes him — him is the stuff that shows up."

So how did Cooper get ready to pitch on zero days rest?

"A lot of water and sleep," he said. "I try to sleep as much as I can and I just show up and I feel good."

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball: Paul Skenes pitch v. Wake Forest, College World Series