As a gymnast at Louisiana State University, Livvy Dunne performed aerobic and athletic feats few could ever dream of pulling off.
This weekend, Dunne lived the nightmare of batters across Major League Baseball.
Dunne stepped into the batter’s box against her boyfriend, Pirates right-hander and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.
To Dunne’s credit, she held her ground against Skenes’ fastball — which he may or may not have dialed down a bit. But the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition cover model’s visceral reaction was the same as Skenes’ often-overmatched opponents.
“Pure fright,” Dunne wrote on her Instagram story.
Calling the matchup “the ultimate test of trust,” Dunne seemed to come away physically unscathed in her first unofficial at-bat against arguably the game’s most fearsome pitcher. Mentally? Well, that’s another story.
Fortunately for Dunne, she never has to face Skenes’ deadly arsenal again. The batters in the NL Central and throughout baseball aren’t quite as lucky.
