Paul Skenes was lighting up the radar gun in Florida and Olivia Dunne made sure to support him.
The top Pirates prospect had a dominant spring training outing against the Orioles on Thursday afternoon, and his girlfriend shared her love on social media.
Skenes, 21, last year’s top pick in the MLB draft, touched 102 mph on his high-powered fastball against Baltimore and pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the Pirates’ 9-8 loss in Sarasota, Florida.
The highlight of the game came in the first at-bat when he squared off with top Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday, getting him to groundout on the second pitch with a triple-digit fastball.
Skenes then induced two fly outs to end the spotless 10-pitch frame.
Dunne, 21, reposted a video of Skenes’ highlights onto her Instagram Story and wrote “something slight,” seemingly in a nod to his impressive velocity on his fastball.
“I think the biggest thing was just getting out there and pitching in front of people, because adrenaline is a big thing,” Skenes told reporters after his outing, according to the Associated Press. “Just kind of wanted to see where we’re at.”
For her part, Dunne, who went on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Thursday, spoke about her relationship with Skenes toward the end of her interview.
“He’s pretty level-headed all the time — that’s what I love about him — and I think we’re a really good pair because of that,” she said. “Because I have such a crazy lifestyle and things get thrown my way all the time. Sometimes, my emotions can sway and he’s very level, and I just think it’s a very good match.”
The two, which went public with their relationship in the late summer after he went to the Pirates, have had some fun with each other, including on social media.
Dunne, in a recent TikTok, tried to prank Skenes by telling him she had gotten a new endorsement deal that involved an underwater oil rig, and instead of sounding angered and weirded out, the former LSU pitcher supported the current LSU gymnast.
Over the summer, Skenes opened up about his relationship with the viral sensation on to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“It’s nice, for sure,” Skenes said then. “It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, to be honest, in terms of actually going somewhere. If one of us went out in Baton Rouge by ourselves, there’s probably gonna be someone there asking for something — picture, autograph, whatever.”
Now, Skenes is getting ready as he gets closer to making his big league debut.
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