Paul Skenes had a rough start to his Double-A journey, despite the support of his girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, a talented LSU gymnast. During his debut game for the Altoona Curve, Skenes, the No.1 pick in the MLB Draft, only managed to record two outs while giving up four runs on three hits. He also had two walks and two strikeouts. Despite this setback, Skenes, a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has made a strong impression in his first few weeks of professional baseball and is widely regarded as the top pitching prospect in the sport. He even hit 100 mph in his debut and earned a call-up to Double-A before the end of August.
Throughout his promotions, Dunne, who is ranked as the second-highest earner among college athletes and NIL earnings according to On3.com, has supported Skenes. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Skenes confirmed that the two are dating. Dunne was spotted at his Double-A debut in Altoona and even shared a TikTok video from the game. She also posted an Instagram Story tagging the location of Peoples Natural Gas Field, where the game took place, while wearing a Pirates jersey.
During the game, Skenes struggled, giving up a single and a walk before striking out his first opposition batter, the Akron RubberDucks. However, he allowed runs to score on a single and a double before being switched out following another strikeout and walk. It is unclear how long Skenes was expected to pitch, as his previous three outings lasted only four innings combined. It’s possible that he was on a strict pitch count.
Following Skenes’ departure from the game, Con Noe Toribio, who came in from the Curve’s bullpen, allowed two inherited runners to score, adding to Skenes’ final statistics. Reflecting on his performance, Skenes acknowledged that it wasn’t his best outing, citing that three balls were hit under 90 mph and usually result in outs. He remains optimistic and hopeful for improvement in future games.
In an earlier interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Skenes described his relationship with Dunne as a “small-world type of thing,” which began through mutual connections. Both athletes share a strong connection to LSU, as Dunne’s gymnastics teammate, Elena Marenas, is dating Skenes’ friend. Skenes transferred to LSU after two seasons at Air Force and had an impressive record, leading the Tigers to the College World Series with a 13-2 record and a 1.69 ERA. He also recorded 209 strikeouts in 122 ⅔ innings.
Overall, while Skenes faced some challenges in his Double-A debut, he remains determined and focused on his baseball journey, with the unwavering support of his girlfriend, Olivia Dunne.
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