OMAHA, Neb. — LSU knocked previously unbeaten Coastal Carolina ace
Jacob Morrison out of the game with a four-run fourth inning and the Tigers won their second national championship in three years Sunday with a 5-3 victory in the College World Series finals.
The Tigers (53-15) completed a two-game sweep of the Chanticleers (56-13), who entered the finals on a 26-game win streak and on Sunday saw coach
Kevin Schnall and first base coach
Matt Schilling ejected in the bottom of the first inning.
Coastal Carolina won the national title in 2016 and was trying to become the first team since 1962 (Michigan) and the fifth all time to win the championship in its first two CWS appearances.
Coastal Carolina pulled within 5-3 in the seventh against LSU starter Anthony Eyanson when No. 9 batter
Wells Sykes hit his fourth homer of the season.
That brought on Chase Shores for his fourth appearance of the CWS. The 6-foot-8 right-hander touched 100 mph with his fastball while retiring the first five batters he faced before
Dean Mihos, who homered in the second, singled through the right side leading off the ninth.
The Chanticleers had won 15 straight when Morrison (12-1) started. Morrison's 3⅔ innings marked his shortest start of the season, and the five runs against him were the most he has allowed.
Schnall, in his first year as head coach after taking over for the retired Gary Gilmore, had not been ejected this season before Sunday.
Walker Mitchell was at bat with two outs and
Sebastian Alexander had just stolen second base when Schnall went to the top steps of the dugout, gestured at plate umpire Angel Campos with three fingers and began shouting at him.
The NCAA said Schnall was arguing balls and strikes, was given a warning and was thrown out when he did not leave immediately. Schilling was tossed for comments he made as the confrontation with umpires continued near the plate.
"As an umpire, I feel like it's your job to manage the game -- the national championship game -- with some poise, some calmness and a little bit of tolerance," Schnall said.
Associate head coach
Chad Oxendine took over Schnall's duties after the ejection.
Schnall and Schilling, meanwhile, spent the remainder of the game in the clubhouse. Both returned to the dugout -- with Schnall going player-by-player with hugs and talks -- while their team watched LSU celebrate winning the title.
Then Schnall met with the media.
"I'm not sorry. Not for what happened, but that this season is over," he said while sharing the stage with his players.
Once the players left, Schnall became much more pointed when recalling the interaction with the umpires and the ejection.
"There's 25,000 people there, and I vaguely heard a warning issued," Schnall said. "I was an assistant coach for 24 years and treated like second grade -- a second-level citizen -- and you can't say a word. Now, as a head coach, I think it is your right to get an explanation of why we got warned.
"I'm 48 years old. I shouldn't get shooed by another grown man. So, when I come out to ask what the warning is, a grown man shooed me. So, at that point, I can now hear him say he's issued a warning for arguing balls and strikes. At that point, I said, 'because you missed three at that point.' Ejected."
The NCAA said Playing Rule 3-6-f-Note 1 states "balls, strikes, half swings or decisions about hit-by-pitch situations are not to be argued. After a warning, any player or coach who continues to argue balls, strikes, half swings or a hit-by-pitch situation shall be ejected from the game."
"If that warrants an ejection, I'm the first one to stand here like man and apologize," Schnall said. "Two words that define our program are 'Owning it.' And what does that mean? You have to own everything that you do, without blame, without defending yourself, without excuses."
The NCAA said "prolonged arguing" results in a two-game suspension, so Schnall would miss the first two games of next season.
Schilling was thrown out for the comments he made while arguing. If an assistant is ejected, he automatically also is suspended for one game. Schilling also gets an additional two-game suspension under the "prolonged arguing" rule, the NCAA said. That means he will miss the first three games in 2026.
Schnall said he believes what happened to Schilling was the result of a tumble by one of the umpires, who appeared to have tripped over the feet of a crewmate.
"You guys watch the video," Schnall said. "There was a guy that came in extremely aggressively and tripped over Campos' foot, embarrassed in front of 25,000 people. He immediately goes 'two game suspension' and says 'bumping the umpire.' The umpire immediately does that. There was no bump. He was embarrassed.
"I shouldn't be held accountable for a grown man's athleticism."
A spokesman said the NCAA stands by its original statement on the incident when asked for comment on Schnall's remarks about bumping an umpire.
Notebook
- Championship Run Ends for Chants: Coastal Carolina finishes as the national runner-up in its second-ever College World Series appearance, nine years after capturing the 2016 title.
- Early Fireworks, Then Ejections: Coastal head coach Kevin Schnall and assistant coach Matt Schilling were ejected in the bottom of the first inning after arguing a call following Sebastian Alexander's stolen base. The Chants played the final eight innings without their head coach in the dugout.
- Mihos on a Tear: Dean Mihos capped a breakout CWS with his first home run of the postseason and three hits in the finale. He hit .450 with 4 RBI in Omaha.
- Sykes Stays Hot: Wells Sykes launched his fourth homer of the season and posted his sixth multi-hit game of the NCAA Tournament. He batted .278 during the MCWS.
- Bullpen Keeps Hope Alive: Despite the early deficit, Coastal's bullpen—Hayden Johnson, Darin Horn, and Ryan Lynch—combined for 5.1 scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing just four hits.
- Historic Season for Coastal: The Chanticleers set a program record with 56 wins, went undefeated in regionals and super regionals, and reached the CWS finals for just the second time in school history.
