2025 MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 13, 2025

Kevin Schnall

Cameron Flukey

Blake Barthol

Wells Sykes

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Postgame Press Conference

Coastal Carolina - 7, Arizona - 4

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by the Arizona Wildcats.

CHIP HALE: It was a tough game. Hard fought. Both teams I thought played their tails off. Some funky plays in there. Some hit batsmen. Some funky bunts.

But in the end, it came down to some great two-strike hitting by them. Great pitch almost on the ground. Guy dunks it into right for a double. Then they get jammed, hit a ball into center for a base hit. Obviously the two runs that Tony gave up, those hurt, too, because we ended up getting first and third and nobody out.

But that's the reason, that's why they have the record they have and they've been able to run so many off. They have a lot of confidence. Hopefully we'll get another shot at them.

Q. Owen, you rallied from it, but if you could walk through what happened on that bunt, what you saw as you're coming off the mound and what you felt as you hit the ground?

OWEN KRAMKOWSKI: I saw the ball was going to be up in the air for a while. I didn't see anyone near it. I knew I was going to have to make a play on it and went all out for it, I guess, just trying to make something happen. Ended up with a tough situation out of it. But a play I wish I could have made again, but it happens.

Q. Mason, on the bat you eventually got hit, did you point out the balk in your own way or did you see what happened? That at-bat in general and the inning where you did so much without getting the ball out of the infield.

MASON WHITE: I heard the home plate umpire scream balk. I wanted to make sure, just reaction. It was a good inning. I wish we could have capitalized more. We left some guys out there. But it's all right.

Q. Adonys, on your bunt, can you walk me through the scenario and what was the play call. And when the ball got past the pitcher what were your thoughts running through your mind as you're running down the first baseline?

ADONYS GUZMAN: Going into that at-bat, the had a mound visit so we took a timeout. I knew I was going to bunt. Got to 2-0, gave me a green light, swing away. I didn't like it. And they said bunt. He had a little ride, throws hard. I was trying to get on top of it. Thankfully I squeezed it past the defenders.

Q. Mason, could you talk about, you guys have faced adversity before like the first game at North Carolina. What can you take from that experience to go forward here?

MASON WHITE: It's a familiar feeling being at the bottom. In a tough situation, tough spot. We're going to have to play on Sunday. We're going to play a really good team, whoever it is.

We did it twice in North Carolina. We battled and then that's what our whole season has been, battling back from tough things we had to face.

Q. For all the players, can you speak a bit more on the experience you've had where having (indiscernible) that first game even during the regular season and coming back to win?

OWEN KRAMKOWSKI: I think this is a group we want to do it with. This is all the guys we feel most confident doing it with. We've done it before, so it's just taking it pitch by pitch and knowing it can happen. If we trust it it will happen. So just trusting everyone we've got with us is the biggest part right now.

Q. What did you think of their starter? It felt you started to tag him as you went through the second time in the lineup.

ADONYS GUZMAN: I knew he likes his heater. Has a little bit of sink. So I was just trying to see his heater, put a ball in play hard.

MASON WHITE: He was sinking the ball and sweeping it pretty well. And he was locating too, so what you had to do against him is jump the mistake. We started to do it as the game went forward.

Q. Could you speak to the bunt play, too, what you had hoped there what did happen? And also how Owen rallied. He didn't let that keep him down. But that specific play because it led to some runs for them.

CHIP HALE: It led to two runs. The ball went up and it didn't look like Adonys could see it. He was looking behind him. And Maddox was at third. He didn't get a good break in.

So Owen's a great athlete. That's a play he makes. He had it in his glove. I think when he hit the ground it just got jarred out.

But, again, that's what we talked about before the game. Other than that bunt, we did a really good job of defending their bunt for. It's a big play for them, the hit batsmen and bunt. I thought we did a really good job.

You're right, he limited the damage beautifully there. Gave up the two runs. We moved on and we were able to stay in the game.

Q. I expect that you scouted them pretty well, but did you expect that Flukey would come out of the bullpen and face you guys today?

CHIP HALE: You expect anything in these situations. I was surprised by Eikhoff starting. And then after watching him pitch the first couple of innings, I understood why they started him. He was a really good match-up against our guys.

Like the guys said, he was sinking well and using his breaking ball more than we're used to, right on left.

And, yeah, I'm not surprised. They're probably going to use everybody they can every game, just like we're going to have to now. Our backs are against the wall.

Q. You've both played and coached on a lot of teams that have won a lot of games even after battling back from deficits. How are you going to use that experience to guide this team, your first time leading this team to Omaha?

CHIP HALE: I think the point that I try to make after the game was the zoo, everything that goes on with Omaha that's really cool and really fun is over for us. It's back to foxhole mentality, playing for each other and worrying about baseball.

We got a lot of family here, lot of friends, they're going to have to make hard decisions to get themselves ready for Sunday. Luckily we have a day off. We have a nice event tomorrow we'll go to, get a good practice in. And then we'll get ready for one of the two teams that's playing after this. That's all it is.

They've done it all year. We've lost Fridays and won the series. It's going to be tougher. This is that four-team deal. So it's not just like winning two more games. We're going to have to win a bunch of games. To do that we'll have to fight and battle and scratch.

I was very proud of them in the ninth. We had the tying run at the plate. We pitch hit Dom. He had a tough at-bat. And Brandon hit the ball -- a few feet the other way it's a base hit we keep it going. They keep fighting. They're not going to stop fighting.

Q. You have a fantastic catcher that frames. Coastal also has one. Is that something that makes the scouting report about expanding the zone with guys like that behind the plate?

CHIP HALE: Obviously Donny does a nice job, but Bodine was fantastic, one of the best players in the country. I was really impressed.

It's a tough thing because I come from the old school. When you see guys doing that, I'm just shocked that umpires call strikes when they move the ball that much but they get them. Everybody, all the old guys get upset with the one-knee catchers. And this and that there's a reason why we do it. And I tell guys, there's a reason why -- they're stealing strikes. He does a beautiful job of it.

Q. The way this park plays, you're similar to it with Hi Corbett. You had the outfielders back. Did you want to have them deep because of trying to avoid the doubles there in the eighth inning?

CHIP HALE: I guess you're playing semi no doubles. It's so big you're just playing where you play, if you look -- everybody's going to play deep here. Obviously Summerhill's ball, would have liked him to get to it and hold him to a single. That would have been great. It's just so hard where it landed. Went to the right.

The next one to Walton, were we two deep? I don't know. I'm not going to second-guess it right now.

Q. How did you decide in that eighth inning when to stick with Hicks and when to go to Pluta?

CHIP HALE: Kevin and I talked about it. Most of the times he makes the decisions on pitching and I'm the guy that goes takes him out.

But I think, the guys the closer the year in the country, and we just wanted to keep it at one run. And that doesn't happen very often with Tony Pluta. And Garrett was doing great. Don't get me wrong. Two bloop hits beat him.

Maybe that was a mistake. Tony was ready. He was loose. But he got behind. Who was up, was it Barthol? Who hit that ball? He did a great job hitting it in the gap.

That's really what broke our back. I think one run we definitely could tie that sucker.