Olivia Dunne, an artistic gymnast for the LSU Tigers and social media influencer with over 13 million TikTok followers, shared a video capturing her anxiety as she watched boyfriend Paul Skenes pitch for Team USA in a semifinal of the 2026 World Baseball Classic against the Dominican Republic.^[1][2]

In the TikTok post, Dunne showed herself nervously viewing the action, captioning it: "When someone says they’re stressed but they’ve never watched their man get out of a bases loaded jam repping the USA." She added in the comments: "I am not cut out for this."^[1]

Skenes, a starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year, took the mound for the United States at loanDepot park in Miami, Florida, on March 15, 2026. The semifinal was the first of two at the venue, part of the tournament's knockout stage held March 5-18, 2026.^[3][4][5]

The United States advanced to the final on March 18, 2026, at loanDepot park against the winner of the Italy-Venezuela semifinal.^[3][4]

Dunne attended an earlier pool-stage game between Team USA and Great Britain at Daikin Park in Houston on March 7, 2026.^[1]

Sources

1. Fox News Digital. "Olivia Dunne comes to grips..." (article draft provided, March 2026). https://www.foxnews.com/sports/olivia-dunne-paul-skenes-world-baseball-classic
2. Wikipedia. "Livvy Dunne." Accessed October 10, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livvy_Dunne
3. MLB.com. "2026 World Baseball Classic Schedule." Announced December 16, 2024. https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/2026/schedule
4. MLB.com. "2026 World Baseball Classic." Accessed October 10, 2024. https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/2026
5. Wikipedia. "Paul Skenes." Accessed October 10, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Skenes