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Coastal Carolina baseball coach Kevin Schnall wants answers following Sunday's ejection in the first inning of his team's series-ending loss to LSU in Game 2 of the College World Series championship finale. Schnall and Chanticleers first base coach Matt Schilling were tossed soon after play began, resulting in a firestorm of reaction.

Schnall said he was wrongfully accused of bumping an umpire after a discussion escalated following his decision to walk to the top of the dugout and motion with three fingers toward plate umpire Angel Campos following what he deemed were multiple missed calls on pitches that should've been strikes.

"If you guys watch the video, there was a guy who came in extremely aggressively, tripped over Campos' foot, embarrassed in front of 25,000, and goes 'two-game suspension' and says 'bumping the umpire,'" Schnall said. "There was no bump. I shouldn't be held accountable for a grown man's athleticism. Now it's excessive because I was trying to say I didn't bump him.

"It is what it is. If that warranted an ejection, there would be a lot of ejections. As umpires, it's your job to manage the game with some poise and calmness and a little bit of tolerance."

Schnall and Schilling received ejections after "prolonged arguing" according to the NCAA's statement. Schilling will serve a one-game suspension to begin the 2026 season while Schnall must sit three games under the "prolonged arguing" assessment in the NCAA rule book. 

"As a head coach, it's your right to get an explanation for why we got warned," Schnall said. "I'm 48 years old and I shouldn't get shooed by another grown man. When I came out, I got told it was a warning issued for arguing balls and strikes, and I said it was because you missed three. At that point, ejected. If that warrants an ejection, I'm the first one to stand here like a man and apologize."

Without Schnall for the rest of the afternoon, associate head coach Chad Oxendine called the shots for the Chanticleers, who fell 5-3 to the Tigers with staff ace Jacob Morrison suffering his first loss of the season.

LSU's national championship victory was the program's eighth all-time and second in three seasons.

"I'm not sorry for what happened," Schnall said. "I'm sorry for this being over. I'm sorry for how it ended."

Coastal Carolina posted a statement on behalf of the university indicating disappointment with how that memorable series of decisions from the officiating crew in the first inning was handled.

"The ejections of head coach Kevin Schnall and assistant coach Matt Schilling in the bottom of the first inning drastically altered the trajectory of a must-win game for our team," Coastal Carolina said in its statement. "These decisions were made with an alarming level of haste, without an attempt at de-escalation, and deprived our student-athletes of the leadership they have relied on throughout a historic postseason run. This is not about a single call — it's about process and professionalism. In the biggest moment of the college baseball season, our program and its student-athletes deserved better. 

"The NCAA must re-evaluate how it trains, assigns and reviews umpires in championship environments. We expect consistency, communication and the same level of excellent from officials that we demand of our teams. Our players have represented this university, this conference and college baseball with integrity and heart. They deserved the opportunity to compete for a national championship with their leaders and were denied that opportunity today."