Why LSU had Tennessee beat before the first pitch was thrown on Saturday
The LSU Tigers cruised to a 6-3 win against the Tennessee Vols on Saturday night in Omaha, immediately sending UT to the elimination bracket in the College World Series. Tennessee will face Stanford on Monday as the Vols look to keep their College World Series hopes alive. The Vols' loss to LSU on Saturday basically […]
The LSU Tigers cruised to a 6-3 win against the Tennessee Vols on Saturday night in Omaha, immediately sending UT to the elimination bracket in the College World Series.
Tennessee will face Stanford on Monday as the Vols look to keep their College World Series hopes alive.
The Vols' loss to LSU on Saturday basically came down to one thing — the Tigers had the game won before the first pitch was even thrown.
LSU had Paul Skenes, the 2023 college baseball player of the year, on the mound for the matchup against the Vols.
Skenes has been incredible this season — he'll almost certainly be a top five selection in the 2023 MLB Draft. He's been so good, in fact, that it seems like he was in the heads of Tennessee's players.
It was almost like when Mike Tyson was in his prime and he would have fighters beat before he stepped into the ring just because of his reputation.
Skenes' reputation helped beat Tennessee on Saturday night. That much was evident by listening to post-game comments from several of UT's players.
"We knew coming in, I mean, he has an unreal arm," said Vols centerfielder Hunter Ensley after the game. "I thought game prep was really good. All pre-game work was good building up to the game. But, I mean, just wasn't able to get it done."
"Obviously Paul's really good," added designate hitter Griffin Merritt. "There's no other way to put it. And he was on his game tonight. And he was executing his game plan. And when you face a guy like that you need a couple of breaks to go your way."
There's a fine line between showing an opponent the ultimate respect and turning them into a folk hero. And it felt like Tennessee turned Skenes into a folk hero on Saturday night. And when you're facing a guy as good as Skenes, that will get you beat every time.
Tennessee will have to change their mindset if they're going to get past Stanford on Monday. They have to expect good things to happen instead of hoping that good things will happen.
Featured image via Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
