The University of Arizona Wildcats have a chance to exorcise some demons this Friday as they are set to face Coastal Carolina in the opener of the 2025 College World Series.
Arizona fans should be very familiar with the Chanticleers as the two schools matched up in a classic CWS Championship Series, with the Chanticleers coming out on top and numerous moments from that series living on in Arizona fans’ memories. Coincidentally, this is Coastal Carolina’s first CWS appearance since 2016. This is a very different roster than the Chanticleers had in Omaha previously and a preview is in order.
Kevin Schnall
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are led by 48 year old, first year head coach Kevin Schnall.
Schnall has a long history at Coastal Carolina; he was a 2nd team All-American catcher for the Chanticleers in the late 90s and then came back to the program as an assistant in 2001. Coach Schnall was an assistant at Coastal from 2001 to 2012 and then rejoined the staff as associate head coach at Coastal from 2016 to 2024.
Schnall was then promoted to head coach due to Gary Gilmore retiring from coaching after leading the Chanticleers for 29 years. This marks his 25th year as a member of the Coastal Carolina baseball program. In his first year as head coach, Schnall had been named both Sun Belt Coach of the Year and Perfect Game National Coach of the Year.
He’s employed an aggressive style of baseball this year. The Chanticleers have stolen 106 bases and have only been caught stealing 29 times in their 64 games of action. They put a lot of pressure on their opponents and are always looking to take an extra base in any manner possible.
It’s been a magical run for Coach Schnall in his first year at the helm as he was able to take Coastal to their second CWS appearance in program history.
The Streak
Many have talked about it but it must be brought up. The Chanticleers are currently on a 23 game win streak, including sweeping #4 Auburn on the road in a hostile environment to win their super regional.
Coastal Carolina enters the College World Series boasting a 53-11 overall record and a conference record of 26-4. They have not suffered a loss since April 22nd when the College of Charleston beat them 4 to 2. Since that loss, the Chanticleers have gone on this incredible win streak with wins over 11 Clemson, Southern Miss, Eastern Carolina, and Auburn highlighting the list.
There might not be a team quite as hot or on a roll as Coastal Carolina. Some would say barber this can’t last forever and they’re due a loss or two.
Who Will Be Pitching?
Coastal Carolina boasts a dominant pitching staff and what could be one of the best the Cats have faced. The bullpen boasts a number of very strong arms including senior Ryan Lynch.
Lynch has made 26 appearances and has an ERA of 0.59. In 30.2 innings pitched, he’s given up 2 earned runs and hasn’t done so since March 22nd. That’s about as dominant as they come.
The Chanticleers will most likely be starting sophomore Cameron Flukey, a 6’6” right-hander that’s been their normal Friday night starter this season. Flukey is a very talented pitcher, some scouts believe he will end up a first round pick in next year’s draft. On the season, he’s made 16 starts and has a 3.24 ERA and 7-1 record.
He tops out at about 96 MPH on his fastball but what is interesting about Flukey is he does not lose a ton of velocity throughout the game. He still is typically throwing around 94 or 95 MPH into the sixth inning and beyond. His curveball usually sits in the 75 MPH range, a very drastic difference in velocity than his fastball. He’s a big time strikeout guy as he’s struck out 106 batters in 91.2 innings pitched. Doesn’t walk a ton of guys and doesn’t give up a ton of home runs. This will be a tough test for the Cats.
Some Names to Watch for at the Plate
Appearing in 62 of the Chanticleers’ 64 games is junior catcher Caden Bodine. Bodine leads his team in batting average, hitting .332 on the year. Doesn’t hit a ton of home runs, only hitting 5 on the year, but he draws a lot of walk and is on base a lot, his on-base percentage this year is .446. Something you hear scouts talk about when evaluating plate discipline and things of that nature are guys that walk more than they strike out. Bodine has walked 45 times this year and only struck out 21 times. He’s also been hit by 15 pitches. He isn’t a prolific base runner as he’s been caught stealing 7 out of his 9 steal attempts but keeping him off the bases is a struggle.
Sebastian Alexander is a senior left fielder hitting .320 with a .432 on-base percentage. Alexander leads the Chanticleers in RBIs and is second on the team in home runs with 10 on the season. He’s been hot as of late, last week he was 5 for 9 in the Auburn Super Regional with two doubles. This is a name to watch on the base path, Alexander has swiped 27 bases and only has been caught stealing 5 times. The Cats will have to make a conceited effort to make sure he doesn’t catch them sleeping if he gets on.
Blake Barthol leads the team in home runs with 12 and is hitting .279 on the season, yet hasn’t hit one this postseason. The junior second baseman in this postseason has gone 6 for 24 and has not had an extra base hit. It hasn’t hurt Coastal that he hasn’t been hitting for as much power as of late, but it’s something to monitor. If his bat comes alive in Omaha and he gets back to hitting the long ball, the Chanticleers chances of winning in Omaha increase exponentially.
Keys to Victory
To win this game, Owen Kramkowski has to set the tone early. He’s coming off a rough outing in Chapel Hill but the Cats need him on his A game. Coastal is very scrappy and they do the little things well. They’re always looking to steal a base, work the count at the plate, beat out a slow roller in the infield. They’ve also been hitting the long ball lately. Kramkowski has to get guys out and get them out quickly. Even if they don’t score early, he can’t allow them to rack up a ton of pitches on him early.
At the plate the Cats need to get Flukey out of the game in a hurry. He’s too good to try and be uber aggressive at the plate. They need to work the count and take what’s given. While Coastal has a very good bullpen and a number of highly impressive arms, they can’t allow Flukey to go 7+ innings because then they can throw out a guy like Lynch and shut the game down. Getting into that pen as soon as possible will be important.
All hands need to be on deck for this one but the Cats come into this CWS on a hot streak. I like their chances to make some noise this week in Omaha but are going to have to get through a really good Coastal Carolina team first.
Well done Koby. Keep up the good work and Bear Down