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Jeff Passan calls out ejection of Kevin Schnall, Matt Schilling in CWS Finals Game 2, Coastal Carolina vs. LSU

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•06/22/25•

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Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall and first base coach Matt Schilling’s ejection Sunday warranted quite the response from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The MLB insider was baffled by the two getting tossed in the first inning of Game 2 of the College World Series finals vs. LSU.

You read that right, the first inning. Schnall appeared to argue balls and strikes from the dugout, but got closer to home plate. He was ejected quite promptly.

Then, Schilling was tossed for words as he walked back up the first base line. It all happened very fast, so it was quite surprising to a lot of people. Although the contingent of LSU fans in Omaha were pleased.

“There are very few combinations of words in the English language that warrant ejecting a coach from an elimination game in the Men’s College World Series finals,” Passan wrote on Twitter. “And yet Coastal Carolina’s Kevin Schnall — and first-base coach Matt Schilling — just got run in the first inning.”

Passan added more to what he thought was a crazy ejection. Ever the wordsmith, Passan noted Schnall didn’t utter certain verbiage that would warrant a toss.

“’You missed three pitches'” does not qualify as one of those combinations,” Passan wrote. “If this is all it took for Kevin Schnall to get ejected, that is absurd.”

This is only the second time in program history that Coastal Carolina made it to the College World Series. The Chanticleers lost Game 1 of the finals to the Tigers 1-0 on Saturday.

Schnall, who was associate head coach on that team, opened up about that run during his opening comments at the Men’s College World Series Media Day Press Conference earlier this month.

“June 30, 2016, was one of the most remarkable days of my baseball career and ultimately it transpired right here,” Schnall said. “That was the day we dog-piled after winning a National Championship. As you can imagine, that moment, that day, that team changed Coastal baseball together. Quite frankly, it changed my life and my family’s life forever.”