Paul Skenes' girlfriend Olivia Dunne shuts down Tigers mascot with savage comeback

Paul Skenes' girlfriend Olivia Dunne caught the attention of fans as the reigning National League Rookie of the Year started for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

As Paul Skenes got into his rhythm at the mound against the Detroit Tigers, Olivia Dunne caught a poster made by Tigers mascot Paws behind the home plate.

"Sup Livvy Dunne," the poster read.

Dunne, who represented the LSU Tigers during his storied gymnastics career, seemingly shut down the query in an Instagram post.

"Sorry.. but not my type of tiger," Dunne wrote in her Instagram story.

The former LSU gymnast's response seemingly highlighted her fondness for the LSU Tigers, the team Paul Skenes represented during his college baseball career. The Pirates' ace helped the team to the College World Series title in his last season in 2023.

Paul Skenes' girlfriend Olivia Dunne reflects on watching CWS game with Pirates ace

The LSU Tigers made it to the College World Series championship series after a dramatic win against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Omaha. The Tigers are close to replicating the feat they achieved with Paul Skenes in 2023 as they face Coastal Carolina in Game 1 on Saturday.

Skenes, who was the Most Outstanding Player in the 2023 CWS, attended Tigers' games along with his girlfriend over the weekend. Dunne reflected on watching the game from the stands with Skenes.

"It was weird to be sitting next to him and watching the baseball game," Dunne said. "I mean, it got rained out so we only watched a little bit of the game, but Paul is like, 'It's fine, I watch games all the time, so it's alright.' But it was so fun."

Paul Skenes took the mound for the second game of the doubleheader against the Tigers on Thursday. Skenes, who has been exceptional from the mound despite his team's struggles, put in another solid performance.

The flamethrower pitched six innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and striking out nine Tigers batters. The rain-delayed contest went to extra innings after Detroit rallied back from 4-0 down.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash