It didn’t take Paul Skenes long to break Ben McDonald’s single-season strikeout record on Thursday night against Wake Forest. Skenes entered the game with 200 strikeouts on the season, and he only needed three strikeouts to break the record. That only took him two innings. I would figure there were bets made in Las Vegas on what pitch Skenes would use to get the record-breaking strikeout. Most people probably went with the fastball. Why not? Skenes’ average miles per hour on his fastball is 100. That answer was wrong though. An 88-mile-per-hour changeup is what got the job done. The record is a great thing to have for Skenes, but he is more concerned with winning the baseball game. LSU has to beat Wake Forest to advance to the national championship series against the Florida Gators. Skenes will likely be the No. 1 or 2 draft pick in the 2023 MLB draft. His teammate Dylan Crews is expected to go one pick before or behind him.
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