Coastal Carolina Gets Its Rings, But Catamounts Spoil The Party
CONWAY, S.C.—One more time, the whole gang was back together for Coastal Carolina. Saturday, the entire 2016 national championship team returned to Springs Brooks Stadium to celebrate their accomplishment and receive their rings.
In college baseball, most ring ceremonies take place during the offseason. By the time the season starts in mid-February, players who have moved on to pro ball have typically begun heading to Florida or Arizona for spring training. It also makes it easier to turn the page on last season and focus all the attention on the current team and its quest to reach the College World Series.
But all the 2016 Chanticleers were in attendance Saturday. Coastal brought back every member of last year’s team, both players and support staff, and several people who worked with the team in Omaha for the pregame ceremony.
It was an emotional reunion. As the players were introduced one-by-one to receive their rings on the field, coach Gary Gilmore shared a hug and some personal words with them. Former closer Mike Morrison was overcome with emotion when he was called upon to give a speech. When it was time for Gilmore to address the crowd of 3,777, a program record for an on-campus game, he echoed Lou Gehrig’s famous words.
“I can promise you right now,” Gilmore said, “living the dream that I did with that group of young men last year; the dream of this stadium becoming a reality; Teal Nation becoming a national phenomenon—that makes me the luckiest man in the world.”
Once the ceremony was over, there was a game to play. And after watching from the first base dugout as Coastal celebrated, Western Carolina was ready to spoil the party.
The Catamounts jumped on hard-throwing righthander Jason Bilous for two runs in the top of the first inning. Senior lefthander Bryan Sammons held the Chanticleers’ powerful lineup at bay, and Western Carolina (1-1) defeated No. 15 Coastal, 5-4.
The Chanticleers (1-1) were never quite able to figure Sammons out, as he effectively mixed four pitches. He wasn’t overpowering, mostly throwing his fastball in the 80s and occasionally pushing into the low 90s. But he struck out four batters and limited Coastal to four runs on four hits and two walks in 7.1 innings.
“I felt I could throw all four of my pitches in the zone pretty much where I wanted to,” Sammons said. “So I was just trying to get ahead and not walk people.”
Sammons was ready for the pressure of facing the defending national champions, having had success on some big stages before in his career. He beat Kyle Lewis and Mercer in the Southern Conference tournament last season and won the decisive game of the Cape Cod League championship series over the summer.
WCU coach Bobby Moranda said Sammons has proven himself as a winner.
“He just competes,” Moranda said. “When he throws strikes, it’s pretty tough.”
Sammons’ strong start helped WCU deny Coastal the storybook ending for its celebration. Gilmore and the Chanticleers were disappointed not to finish the special day with a victory, but they know the game doesn’t always come together perfectly.
“It hurts every one of us that we didn’t win today, I can promise you that right now,” Gilmore said. “This is one of those games that no matter what you want to win, but you tip your cap. That’s the game of baseball.”
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