Fans, media blast ‘ump show’ after Kevin Schnall ejected in 1st inning of CWS finals game
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Fans and media were tuned into Sunday afternoon’s College World Series Finals game between LSU and Coastal Carolina to see 2 great teams battle for the national championship.
LSU only needed 1 more victory to win its 2nd national crown in 3 years. Coastal Carolina was forced to go the long route in the best-of-3 format after losing Game 1 to the Tigers on Saturday night.
But it turned out that wasn’t the only thing the gritty Chanticleers would have to overcome in front of a national TV audience. That audience wanted to see a show put on by LSU and Coastal Carolina that would possibly produce a deciding Game 3 on Monday night. Instead, those fans and media were outraged, feeling they got an “ump show” instead of a baseball show after Coastal Carolina head coach Kevin Schnall and first-base coach Matt Schilling were ejected in the bottom of the 1st inning.
Schnall was apparently heard telling the umpire that he missed 3 pitches so early in the game. Well, that turned Schnall’s big day into a very short day, as he was ejected along with Schilling. Maybe Schnall let his emotions get the best of him in such a huge situation, with his team fighting to force LSU into a Game 3. Or maybe the umpire who tossed the head coach and 1 of his top assistants should have given the 2 coaches a little more leeway, which is what fans and media were arguing in the aftermath of the shocking development.
The reaction to the ejections in such a huge spot, on such a huge stage, was predictably widespread.
Here is just a sampling of that social media outrage:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
