Coastal Carolina won two straight games after dropping game one to Arizona to claim the first national championship in any sport for the school.
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Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore celebrates their 4-3 victory over Arizona to win the championship after Game 3 of the NCAA College World Series baseball finals in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, June 30, 2016.
Coastal squared off against TCU needing two wins in a row to keep their national title hopes alive.
And the dream that Gilmore brought with him to his alma mater more than 20 years ago – when the facilities and so many other factors made such a thought seem exceptionally far-fetched – is now a reality… and then some.
Just because you’ve been ranked in the Top 25 or are seeded in the NCAA Tournament doesn’t mean that your matchup is going to be easy. There was no doubt.
Arizona, which came into the day with just two errors in seven CWS games, saw second baseman Cody Ramer commit two on the same play in the sixth inning. “We always knew we had a good team, but…”, Chadwick said. The Wildcats took down CCU by a 3-0 final as J.C. Cloney threw a complete game shutout for UA.
The finale wasn’t without drama, though.
Arizona’s Ryan Haug swung and missed and the inexplicable, unbelievable party was on.
But Gilmore didn’t seemed concerned about his team’s mentality as he left the ballpark Wednesday night.
Twice, the program reached the Super Regional round, but breaking through that glass ceiling wasn’t enough.
And no we return you to our regularly scheduled Fourth of July weekend, where things are gonna get weird in Myrtle Beach*. How can you not like a team that hits more homeruns than anyone else?
The team that slid into Omaha with no prior CWS experience is flying home with the trophy as national champions.
“I’m really happy for coach Gilmore, his staff and all their players”.
“I’ve heard so many stories about traveling all over this country to get here, delayed flights, canceled flights, weather – they showed up though”, says one fan. Arizona got on the board early after Ramer hit a lead-off double to start the game for UA. “But we are the National Champions”.
Next season, CCU will play a full Sun Belt football schedule and will be eligible to win a conference championship, but ineligible for postseason play. Thursday’s finale is why we watch sports.
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For the select few in Omaha and the Carolinas and everywhere else wearing teal and bronze, it doesn’t get any better than this.
