Paul Skenes Named SEC Pitcher of the Week

There’s been a lot of discussion over the weekend about LSU’s pitching and how it may or may not prove costly come postseason play, but Paul Skenes is not part of that dialogue.

Skenes was named SEC pitcher of the week for his efforts in Friday night’s win against Auburn. Skenes pitched a scoreless 7.1 innings where he only surrendered six hits, issued a walk, and struck out a career-best 15.

The 15 Ks are the most by an LSU pitcher since Tyler Jones did it in 2011; it’s also the first time a Tiger pitcher did it in a conference game since Anthony Ranaudo did it in 2009, against Auburn fittingly enough. You know what else happened in 2009????

Anyway, Skenes is the best pitcher in the country. He’s 9-1 and leads the country with 139 strikeouts. He’s also tops in the SEC in ERA (1.73), innings, (72.2), and opponent batting average (.165).

It’s hard to believe but we’re at the final home conference series of 2023 already. The next time we’ll see Skenes take the bump will be this Friday night as the Tigers host Mississippi State. First pitch is set for 7:30 and the game will be televised on SEC Network.