Notes and reflections from Coastal Carolina’s College World Series championship

In the midst of the postgame celebration Thursday, as College World Series officials were about to announce the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Coastal Carolina baseball coach Gary Gilmore said quietly to himself that it better be Andrew Beckwith.

It was – and it couldn’t have been a difficult decision.

Beckwith, the side-arming junior right-hander, was the stuff of legend in Omaha, Neb., while winning three games for the Chanticleers with a pair of one-run complete games and then 5 2/3 terrific innings Thursday as they defeated Arizona, 4-3, to win the national championship.

Beckwith allowed only two unearned runs in that finale and finished the College World Series having pitched 23 2/3 innings while giving up just four runs (two earned) on 19 hits and four walks with 14 strikeouts.

That equates to a 0.76 earned-run average, which ties for the fifth-best in CWS history among pitchers with at least 18 innings, while he is the 12th player to ever notch three wins during the season’s final stage in Omaha.

“Unreal. It just wasn’t expected at all,” Beckwith said on the field afterward. “I expected to go to Omaha, win a couple a games. Of course we wanted to, but we never thought ever that we’d bring home a national championship to Conway and to South Carolina.”

He finishes the season with a 15-1 record – the most wins in NCAA Divison I this year and two more than the previous single-season program record – and a 1.85 ERA over 117 innings.

Those 15 wins, meanwhile, are the most in college baseball since TCU’s Matt Purke won 15 in 2010.

“He and [Mike] Morrison and [Alex Cunningham] and [Bobby] Holmes and those guys just basically put us on their back, and he was the ring-leader of that in this tournament,” Gilmore said. “He’s been unbelievable. He’s a fantastic competitor.”

Gilmore on Marks

Gilmore used his postgame news conference Thursday to make a public plea to professional baseball to give senior left fielder Anthony Marks an opportunity.

Marks batted a team-best .387 in the College World Series with four runs scored and four RBIs along with his usual strong defensive play.

“I thought Anthony Marks’ play in this entire tournament probably was one of the difference makers in our team, to be honest with you,” Gilmore said. “I mean, at least offensively for me he was our MVP from game 1 all the way through. He played unbelievable.

“And I know you guys – Baseball America, D1 Baseball, MLB.com, I would love some of you all to help me out because that young man doesn’t deserve to stop playing. [With] that kid’s passion and ability, that kid can play professional baseball. And I’ve been screaming at scouts and stuff the last three or four days. This is ridiculous that this kid didn’t get picked up by somebody. And I hope you all can help me. Put a little pressure on them. He needs to play.”

Gilmore also said he felt Marks’ play in the ninth inning to quickly corral Ryan Aguilar’s double to the corner in left and hold Arizona’s lead runner Cody Ramer – and the potential tying run – at third base was as important as any moment in the game.

“I mean, for me, that was the play of the game,” he said. “There’s no doubt. That home run, all that stuff was great, but I mean, that was an intense moment that any margin of error he has at all, the runner scores and it’s a tie game. And we probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

Arizona coach Jay Johnson agreed.

“It’s the play of the season in college baseball,” he said. “I can’t believe it. I told them that when I walked through the line and I congratulated him. We play aggressively, and I mean, it’s live by the sword and die by the sword, and with two outs we’re sending guys. [But] the shortstop had the ball when Cody, who is a great runner, was at third base. He would have been out by 100 feet and it’s only 90 feet [to home], I know that. I can’t believe the play was made. We won a game at home earlier, two games at home earlier this year on the same ball.

“You gotta tip your hat to Anthony. I can’t believe he made the play and got there as quickly as he did.”

Marks on Gilmore

Beckwith, Cunningham and Marks were asked in the postgame news conference to talk about their coach once more and they didn’t hold back in their sentiments.

“Our motto all year has been ‘selfless and relentless,’ for the past two years,” said Cunningham, the junior right-hander. “It’s on the carpet in our locker room. And Coach Gilmore, he’s literally the epitome of that. He embodies it in everything he does. And I love him, man. I love Coach Gilmore with all my heart. I really do. He’s the best.”

Said Beckwith: “You know, he’s our guy. Gilmore’s our guy. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Marks, meanwhile, went on the longest and had perhaps the most telling response.

“He is the epitome of Coastal Carolina,” he said. “And I think the best compliment we could give him is that ever since I’ve been at Coastal, and there’s not too many people this happens for, but when Coach Gilmore walks into a room, all silence. He’s gets everyone’s full attention. That’s respect that you earn. That’s not given. That is respect that you earn, and he has earned that.

“And to be able to play for Coach Gilmore is probably one of the best things that ever happened in my life. I love you to death, Coach. Thank you so much.”

Gilmore softened the emotions of the moment with a little levity.

“The feeling is mutual, gentlemen,” he said. “And I’ll make sure you get extra meal money for all that.”

Emotions of the moment

While offering raw reaction on the field after the momentous win, Gilmore thought back to his father, who died a little more than two years ago.

“My dad always kept telling me to stay the course and keep believing. There were times when we had gotten really frustrated, we couldn’t break through and this and that,” he said. “And we got so disappointed a couple times when I had probably a team or two that was more talented than this one in just personnel. But somehow this group just found a way. It’s the most incredible group of people. ...

“I spent my whole life learning baseball from my dad. I’d give gazillion millions of dollars to just give him one hug right now because I would have never made it through this in my life without him.”

No superstition for Remillard

The turning point in the game, certainly, was when Arizona second baseman Cody Ramer bobbled a ball off the bat of senior Zach Remillard with two outs in the sixth inning and then threw the ball away trying to make a play at third.

Those two errors led to the first two runs of the game and helped spur Coastal Carolina to a four-run inning after junior G.K. Young mashed a two-run homer.

“I had been struggling a little bit the last few days up to that point, and I knew I was going to have a tough at-bat against [Bobby] Dalbec there. He’s a very competitive pitcher with some good stuff,” Remillard said. “So I was just trying to get the barrel to it. I ended up hitting the ball out in front, chopping it over his head and just trying to hustle down the line. It fell our way there.

“I can’t tell you I saw it, honestly. My head was so dead-on getting to first base and I ended up diving head first just trying to do anything I can to get that run to score and give us the lead.”

He had changed batting gloves before that at-bat, but he insisted it wasn’t out of superstition.

“I’m not superstitious by any stretch of the imagination. I was just wearing different batting gloves because I was pretty much soaked through – all black jerseys in the middle of the day in Nebraska, it will heat up,” he said.

Tough moment for Ramer

Those two errors on Ramer were obviously costly for Arizona, but the second baseman had been one of the driving forces in getting the Wildcats this far and nearly helped rally them back with his single in the ninth inning.

After the game, Johnson spoke of Ramer’s value to the team.

“I mean, if I ever have a son and he’s half of what [Ramer] is as a person, a player and a competitor, I’d be extremely proud. I wish I could coach him every year of my life,” he said. “... He was the best player in the Pac-12 this year. Nobody meant more to their team.”

Casting call

Gilmore was asked in the postgame news conference who should play him in a movie about this special team and this incredible season.

“As far as who would play me, my wife would say there’s only one. That would be Kevin Costner,” Gilmore said with a laugh. “If I go with anybody else, I’ll be in trouble.”

CWS All-Tournament Team

Along with Beckwith, three other Coastal Carolina players made the College World Series All-Tournament team.

They were senior catcher David Parrett, Remillard and Marks.

Welcome home

As the team plane landed late Thursday night, the flight crew told the players to make sure they looked out the windows for a surprise.

As they pulled in closer and the horde of awaiting fans came into the focus, the players couldn’t believe the scene that awaited their return.

There had to be at least a couple of thousand people if not more cheering from behind the airport fence as the team walked off the plane.

“Speechless,” Marks said. “I about tripped down the stairs trying to get down there so quick because I wasn’t expecting that. When I [saw] that, emotions completely took over. I went from after the game really being the quiet one because I didn’t know how to soak it all in ... and then you get off the plane and see all these people, there’s no more soaking it in – it’s just excitement. Seeing the joy, I mean, this is unbelievable.”

The crowd chanted for Gilmore, who climbed up on an object with his hands reaching the top of the chain-link fence as he stoked the celebration. He then held the national championship trophy up in the air and later returned to the fence to express his appreciation once more.

“We love you guys, thank you so much,” he said.

“The excitement on the plane when they saw this was unbelievable. I don’t think they ever expected this type of reception in any way, shape or form. It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I’m the most blessed man on Earth, there’s no doubt. I live in an awesome community, work at a great university, coach the best kids in the world and have an awesome family. God’s blessed me great.”

Etc.

Coastal Carolina tied its 2010 team for the program’s single-season wins record at 55, which also led the country this year. ...

The Chants finished 6-0 in elimination games in the NCAA postseason, including the clinching game in the regionals at NC State and five potential elimination games in Omaha. They are the first team to win five such games during the College World Series since Oregon State in 2006. ...

The Chants finish 9-4 against top-10 teams this season and 14-8 against top-25 competition. ...

Coastal Carolina was 51-1 when leading after eight innings and 11-1 in games decided by one run. ...

Remillard and Young each finish the season with 99 hits, tying the program’s single-season record set by David Sappelt in 2007. ...

In closing out the decisive game of the College World Series, Cunningham earned his first career save. ...

Sophomore reliever Bobby Holmes came in for one out in the sixth inning to strand runners at first and second. He finishes the season having allowed only 3-of-26 inherited runners to score.

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 10:46 AM with the headline "Notes and reflections from Coastal Carolina’s College World Series championship."