LSU baseball to start Paul Skenes vs. Wake Forest in College World Series 2023
OMAHA, Neb. — LSU baseball will start ace pitcher Paul Skenes against Wake Forest on Thursday in the 2023 College World Series.
The first pitch between the Tigers (51-16) and the Demon Deacons (54-11) at Charles Schwab Field is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
Skenes will throw despite having pitched five days ago against Tennessee in LSU's first game in the CWS, a matchup the Tigers won 6-3. He threw 123 pitches in that game, one shy of tying his season-high.
The shortest number of days Skenes has had in between starts this season is five.
Opposite Skenes, Wake Forest will start its ace, Rhett Lowder. Lowder will be pitching on four days rest and enters the game with a 1.99 ERA in 113⅓ innings pitched.
Skenes enters Thursday's start with a 1.81 ERA in 114⅔ innings pitched. He is three strikeouts away from breaking Ben McDonald's single-season SEC and LSU strikeout record and has walked 19 batters all season.
LSU advanced to Thursday's do-or-die matchup with the Demon Deacons after beating Wake Forest 5-2 on Wednesday. The Tigers had lost to Wake Forest on Monday, forcing them to win three games in three days to make it to the College World Series final.
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If LSU beats Wake Forest on Thursday, it will have accomplished just that after beating Tennessee a second time on Tuesday and defeating the Demon Deacons on Wednesday.
The winner of Thursday's game will face Florida in the CWS final on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN).
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 to start vs. Wake Forest, CWS 2023
