© Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The final game of the College World Series was marred by controversy thanks to the quick trigger ejection of Coastal Carolina head coach Kevin Schnall. It became an immediate storyline with the Chanticleers losing, 5-3.
Clemson coach Erik Bakich opened up on the ump show this week. He called out NCAA umpires by name in his evisceration of the state of officiating.
Schnall was tossed in the bottom of the first inning during a national championship game against LSU. The Chanticleers had to win in order to keep their season alive. They were forced to try and do so without their head coach in the dugout.
Coastal Carolina was unable to get the victory. Its season ended two wins shy of a title. Schnall was vocal about officiating after the fact.
The coach blasted both home plate umpire Angel Campos and his clumsy crewmate for their thin skin. He didn’t believe his actions warranted an ejection. Most college baseball viewers agreed.
Clemson’s head baseball coach was one of those critics. He opened up on the egregious ejection this week while speaking to local media.
Erik Bakich blasts College World Series ump show.
“The best umpires, the best officials, the best ones that are in charge of that, they’re really good at defusing situations. The worst ones are the ones that instigate and antagonize and look for conflict.
“When you have an Angel Campos or a Billy Van Raaphorst, or guys that are on the side of looking for conflict, then conflict happens… It’s a shame that that had to be part of the narrative of that [College World Series national championship] game.”
-Erik Bakich
Bakich has been a victim of Angel Campos’s quick trigger. He saw his best player get tossed from an NCAA Tournament game against Tennessee in 2023.
Cam Cannarella was bogusly ejected during a postseason matchup soon after hitting a game-tying double in the bottom of the ninth frame. The Tigers were forced to play without their top star in extra innings and the game that followed.
Clemson lost that matchup to the Vols, and eventually the Regional, bringing its season to an end. Erik Bakich wasn’t happy then, and he’s not happy now seeing another state school victimized by an unnecessary ump show.