LSU baseball will start ace Paul Skenes in Game 1 of the Baton Rouge Regional on Friday.

That was announced on Friday afternoon, approximately 90 minutes before the game begins. Skenes will take on a Tulane program that went 19-40 this season but made the NCAA Tournament by earning an automatic berth via its conference tournament.

This is a bit of a surprising move by LSU, given that the Tigers are expected to face tougher competition later in the week. This will likely be Skenes’ only appearance at the Baton Rouge Regional.

By throwing Skenes, LSU increases its chances of getting into the winner’s bracket after Game 1. If the Tigers do beat Tulane, they would face the winner of Oregon State-Sam Houston State on Saturday.

Skenes is arguably the top pitcher in the country. Earlier this week, he was honored as the National Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball newspaper

Skenes finished the season with a 1.89 ERA in over 90 innings. He’s expected to be the first college pitcher off the board in the 2023 MLB Draft.

LSU’s other option to start this game was Ty Floyd, who made 13 starts this season for the Tigers. He’s now expected to throw on Saturday.

First pitch is at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon.