LSU's Paul Skenes is matched against Wake Forest's Rhett Lowder in a premier CWS pitching matchup
LSU starting pitcher Paul Skenes throws against Tennessee in the first inning of a baseball game at the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Credit: AP/Rebecca S. Gratz
OMAHA, Neb. — The game between No. 1 national seed Wake Forest and No. 5 LSU to determine a spot in the College World Series finals will feature a matchup of pitchers projected to be taken early in the first round of next month's amateur draft.
LSU's Paul Skenes (13-2), rated as the No. 2 overall prospect by MLB.com, will go against Rhett Lowder (15-0), the No. 8 overall prospect, on Thursday night.
Skenes is the first college pitcher in 12 years to strike out 200 batters. He struck out 12 and carried a shutout into the eighth inning of LSU's 6-3 win over Tennessee on Saturday. His fastball was clocked at 100 mph or faster 46 times in the game.
Wake Forest is 18-0 in games Lowder starts. He struggled with his command in 5 1/3 innings of a 3-2 win over Stanford on Saturday.
The winner of Thursday's game advances to the best-of-three finals against Florida starting Saturday night.
