Olivia Dunne apparently had a front-row seat to her rumored boyfriend’s Single-A debut.
Paul Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, took the mound Tuesday for the Bradenton Marauders — the Single-A club of the Pittsburgh Pirates — with the star LSU gymnast in attendance at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., according to TMZ.
Dunne, 20, even took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday and posted, “Go baseball!”
Skenes had people buzzing with the numbers he registered on the radar gun.
He pitched one inning Tuesday, striking out two and hitting 100 mph with his fastball.
Skenes threw 16 pitches — 11 strikes — in his second appearance since helping LSU win the College World Series in June.
“It’s getting back on the mound after a month-and-a-half off. I’ve been throwing the whole time, but you can’t replace the adrenaline and the fans and with a hitter in the box,” the 21-year-old said, according to MLB.com.
“You can’t replace that in the bullpen, so sometimes you don’t know exactly what you’re going to get just because your body moves different. Your body moves faster when there are those factors in there. So I was really happy with my ability to command it today, especially for it being so early.”
Facing the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Single-A club of the Detroit Tigers, Skenes made an effort to mix in his offspeed pitches.
“It’s not going to be 101 every outing,” Skenes said. “The thing I look for is just maintaining the velocity.
“If you have a well-spotted fastball at 96 [mph] or whatever, it’s going to work too. Velocity, it’s a tool, it helps you get away with some stuff. It’s a really good tool to have, but it’s not the end-all, be-all by any means, because a well-executed fastball at whatever velocity is the best pitch in baseball, I think.”
Skenes said his next appearance will be Sunday in Bradenton against the Flying Tigers.
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports Skenes is expected to throw two innings.
It remains to be seen if Dunne will be in attendance.
Dunne and Skenes first sparked romance rumors late last month when she shared a photo of herself wearing a Pirates hat while in Bradenton.
Some internet sleuths also noticed a baseball glove on the table in Dunne’s photo that appeared similar to the Marucci black glove Skenes used at LSU.
Dunne and Skenes have yet to address the romance buzz.
The pair was not believed to be linked while Skenes attended LSU.
The gymnast — who is currently the NCAA’s highest-earning female athlete — may be visiting a big league ballpark in the near future as Skenes could potentially make his MLB debut next season.
Skenes signed a record rookie contract last month that included a $9.2 million signing bonus, the largest in MLB draft history.
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