College World Series 2016 finals: Coastal Carolina wins improbable national championship

Justin McGuire

College World Series 2016 finals: Coastal Carolina wins improbable national championship image

Coastal Carolina, champions of the Big South conference, won the College World Series Thursday afternoon by downing Arizona 4-3 in Game 3 of the title series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.

The Chanticleers are perhaps the unlikeliest champions of college baseball ever and one of the unlikeliest in any sport. They withstood a spirited ninth-inning comeback attempt by the Wildcats.

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The key play of the game was a two-run homer by Coastal's G.K. Young in the sixth inning. Young's blast made it 4-0.

"We're not the most talented team in America, we're just the national champions," and emotional Coastal coach Gary Gilmore told ESPN after the game. "That's all I know. That's all that matters.

"This program has been a lot better than people gave it credit for. They just thought we played in a small conference and couldn't get this done."

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Andrew Beckwith was named Tournament Outstanding Player after going 3-0 with a 0.76 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.

 

Justin McGuire