Which NCAA baseball teams could blow up the bracket
The Montgomery Advertiser’s Adam Cole and The Southwest Times Record’s Jackson Fuller break down who could wreck the tournament bracket.
Coastal Carolina has punched its ticket to the 2025 College World Series finals.
No. 13 Coastal Carolina picked up an 11-3 victory over Louisville to move to 3-0 in the CWS at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 18. They advance to the best-of-three-game championship series for the second time in program history.
Coastal Carolina has won 26 consecutive games, which is the longest in the nation. It will play LSU in the championship series. The Chanticleers, who won the 2016 national championship, scored six runs in the first inning, aided by a three-run double by Colby Thorndyke.
Thorndyke drove in five runs in the win. Walker Mitchell and Dean Mihos each drove in two runs. Riley Eikhoff earned the start, his second of the CWS. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, with four strikeouts and one walk.
Eikhoff had plenty of run support as the Chanticleers scored six runs in the first inning, two in each of the fifth and sixth innings and one in the eighth.
Louisville had beaten No. 8 Oregon State 7-6 on a walk-off in the ninth inning to stave off elimination and earn a spot in the semifinals. However, they could not overcome a big first inning from Coastal Carolina.
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| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | F |
| UL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| CCU | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | ― | 11 |
Coastal Carolina beats Louisville 11-3 to advance to the College World Series championship. The Chanticleers have won 26 straight games and advance to their second CWS finals. They scored six runs in the first inning and never looked back.
Colby Thorndyke singles to drive in Blake Barthol for the 11th run of the game for Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers lead 11-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Louisville sends out pitcher Ty Starke with two outs and a runner on second in the bottom of the eighth inning to replace Peter Michael.
Louisville is down to its final three outs after Hayden Johnson records a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eighth inning.
Colby Thorndyke plates another run
Colby Thorndyke is hit by a pitch and with the bases loaded, it plates another run. Coastal Carolina leads 10-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Blake Barthol drives in ninth run for Coastal Carolina
Blake Barthol drives in the ninth run of the game for Coastal Carolina on an RBI single to left field. Barthol drives in Sebastian Alexander, who advances to second base on a balk called on Ethan Eberle.
It’s 9-3 Coastal Carolina.
Lefty starter Ethan Eberle is entering the game for Louisville in the bottom of the sixth inning. Eberle comes on for Jack Brown with a runner on first and two outs.
The second out of the inning came on a perfect throw from right fielder Eddie King Jr., throwing out Wells Sykes trying to advance to third on a single.
Kamau Nieghbors with an RBI knock through the right side to score Tague Davis from third base. Garret Pike advances to third on the hit. It’s 8-3 Coastal Carolina. Neighbors has eight hits out of the nine-spot this CWS.
Matthew Potok records one out and is done. Lefty Hayden Johnson will come on to face Alex Alicea.
Garret Pike singles through the right side to score Eddie King Jr. from third base. Tague Davis is held up a third base with two outs.
Riley Eikhoff’s day is over following 5 1/3 innings of work. Eickoff gave up one run on seven hits, but is responsible for the two runners on base.
Matthew Potok is on to pitch for the Chanticleers.
Louisville is finally on the board in the top of the sixth inning. Tague Davis hits a double to score Jake Munroe from second base. The Cardinals have runners on second and third with one out.
Dean Mihos hits one to the right-center gap and it finds the wall to plate two more runs for Coastal Carolina. Mihos gets to third on the triple. It’s 8-0 Chanticleers.
Louisville coach Dan McDonnell is making another pitching change with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jack Brown will take over on the mound for TJ Schlageter.
Kamau Neighbors picks up a single and takes second base on an error by the centerfielder with one out in the top of the fifth inning. However, Riley Eikhoff is able to retire the next two hitters on groundball outs to escape with another scoreless inning.
Eikhoff has allowed four hits and walked one with four strikeouts in his five innings of work. He is at 88 pitches, so it’ll be interesting to see how much more the Chanticleers can get out of him.
Coastal Carolina is still riding its six-run first inning to lead 6-0 through four innings. Louisville’s relievers have come in and done a good job of shutting down the Chanticleers. The Cardinals’ offense has yet to find a run off Riley Eikhoff
Louisville coach Dan McDonnell goes to the bullpen again. This time TJ Schlageter will come in for Jake Schweitzer. Blagen Pado worked a five-pitch walk to bring up Colby Thorndyke to the dish with one on and one out.
Thorndyke had the three-RBI double off Schweitzer in the first inning.
A promising Louisville third inning turned sour quickly. The Cardinals first the first two hitters of the inning reached with leadoff hitter Alex Alicea at the plate. Alicea lined out to second baseman Blake Barthol, who took the ball unassisted to get Garret Pike out at second.
Following an explosive first inning from the Chanticleers, we have a slower second inning with Riley Eikhoff and Jake Schweitzer trading 1-2-3 innings. Schweitzer struck out a pair in the inning for Louisville.
Coastal Carolina just needs one win to advance to the championship series. The Chanticleers did not mess around in the first inning with a six spot. Walker Mitchell had a two-RBI single, while Colby Thorndyke added a three-run double and Ty Dooley had an RBI single.
Coastal Carolina forced Colton Hartman from the game just six batters in.
Ty Dooley takes one down the middle through the second baseman and shortstop to plate Colby Thorndyke and it is 6-0 Coastal Carolina in the bottom of the first inning.
Colby Thorndyke turns on a 2-2 pitch and delivers a three-run double to give Coastal Carolina a 5-0 lead. Thorndyke is in scoring position and there are still no outs.
Just five batters and 17 pitches in, Louisville has to make a pitching change as Jake Schweitzer takes over for Colton Hartman on the bump.
Hartman hit two batters and walked another on four pitches. He allows two runs and is responsible for all three runners on base.
Walker Mitchell gets a two-RBI single down the right field line to give Coastal a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Chancleteers have runners on the corners and zero out.
Three batters in, Coastal Carolina has the bases loaded with no one out following a single and two hit by pitches.
Riley Eikhoff works a scoreless first inning despite a lead-off single and stolen base from Alex Alicea. Eikhoff retires three straight hitters with a runner in scoring position to keep Louisville off the board in the top of the first inning.
Riley Eikhoff fires a first pitch strike and the semifinal round of the 2025 College World Series is officially underway. Louisville needs to beat Coastal Carolina twice to advance to the championship series, while the Chanticleers need just one more win.
Riley Eikhoff will toe the rubber first in this one, as Coastal Carolina serves as the designated home team. Eikhoff will face switch-hitter Alex Alicea to start the game.
Here’s a look at the Chanticleers’ lineup against the Cardinals on June 18 in the CWS elimination game:
- Cadine Bodine, C
- Sebastian Alexander, LF
- Blake Barthol, 2B
- Walker Mitchell, 3B
- Blagen Pado, RF
- Colby Thorndyke, 1B
- Dean Mihos, DH
- Ty Dooley, SS
- Wells Skyes, CF
Riley Eikhoff is on the mound to start for Coastal Carolina vs. Louisville. Eikoff has a 6-2 record with a 2.98 ERA in 84 2/3 innings in 2025 with 67 strikeouts and 10 walks.
In his last outing, Eikhoff went four innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits against Arizona. He struck out four hitters and did not walk any.
Here’s a look at the Cardinals’ starting lineup against the Chanticleers on June 18 in the CWS semifinal game:
- Alex Alicea, SS
- Lucas Moore, CF
- Matt Klein, C
- Jake Munroe, 3B
- Eddie King Jr., RF
- Tague Davis, 1B
- Zion Rose, LF
- Garret Pike, DH
- Kamau Neighbors, SS
Colton Hartman gets the start for Louisville vs. Coastal Carolina. The sophomore left-handed pitcher has a 2-0 record with a 9.00 ERA in 17 innings in 2025. Hartman has collected 20 strikeouts and walked 16 hitters.
Hartman’s last appearance was on May 17 was Wake Forest. He pitched a scoreless inning, allowing two walks and striking out a batter.
What time does Coastal Carolina vs Louisville baseball start?
Coastal Carolina and Louisville are scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET first pitch at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, in a CWS semifinal game. If the Cardinals win, they force an if-necessary game on June 19.
What TV channel is Coastal Carolina vs Louisville baseball on today?
The CWS semifinal game between Coastal Carolina and Louisville will air on ESPN. Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Ben McDonald (analyst) and Eduardo Pérez (analyst) and Dani Wexelman (reporter) will be on the call.
Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app (with a TV login), ESPN+ – ESPN’s subscription streaming service – and Fubo, the last of which carries ESPN and offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
Coastal Carolina vs Louisville baseball predictions, picks, odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Wednesday, June 16
- Spread: Coastal Carolina (-2.5)
- Over/under: 11.5 runs
- Moneyline: Coastal Carolina (-275) | Louisville (+200)
College World Series schedule
The College World Series began on June 13 and will run through June 22 or 23, depending on whether the championship series requires two or three games. Here is a more detailed look at the latest college baseball schedule and NCAA Tournament bracket update.
- College World Series: June 13-22/23
- CWS finals: June 21-22/23
