The College World Series has delivered plenty of drama this summer, and the final series has been no different. After LSU took Game 1 over Coastal Carolina in a 1-0 shutout, the Chanticleers showed up to Game 2 on Sunday afternoon with a bit of a chip on their shoulder.
Perhaps, it was too much of a chip on their shoulder. During the bottom of the first inning of Game 2, with Coastal Carolina's back against the wall, head coach Kevin Schnall and first-base coach Matt Schilling were both ejected from the game and suspended for additional games for arguing balls and strikes.
Coastal Carolina’s Head Coach gets ejected in the 1st inning of the CWS Finals.
1B Coach Matt Schilling was also ejected
This is embarrassing for the sport. Need umpires with thicker skin. Emotional game with a lot on the line. pic.twitter.com/lGGR5dFzy7
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) June 22, 2025
The decision by the umpires in such a big game sparked controversy all over social media, with even some of the biggest personalities in baseball weighing in. ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan chimed in and grilled the umpires for throwing out the Coastal Carolina coaches.
“There are very few combinations of words in the English language that warrant ejecting a coach from an elimination game in the Men's College World Series finals,” Passan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “And yet Coastal Carolina's Kevin Schnall — and first-base coach Matt Schilling — just got run in the first inning.
“‘You missed three pitches' does not qualify as one of those combinations. If this is all it took for Kevin Schnall to get ejected, that is absurd.”
Article Continues BelowEven if Coastal Carolina comes back from a late 5-1 deficit in Game 2 of the series and forces a decisive Game 3, Schnall will not be allowed to coach after getting suspended for two games for prolonged arguing. Schilling is also suspended for the same reason, so winning a national championship will be an uphill battle for the Chanticleers from here.
Shortly after the ejections, the NCAA released a statement on the matter, via Ryan McGee of ESPN.
“In the bottom of the first inning, Coastal Carolina head coach Kevin Schnall and first base coach Matt Schilling were ejected from the game for continued arguing about balls and strikes after being warned initially by the umpire crew,” the statement read. “NCAA Playing Rule 3-6-f-Note 1 states that 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.”
Now, after not losing a game since April heading into this CWS final series against LSU, it appears as if the dream season for Coastal Carolina is going to end in both heartbreak and controversy.