How to beat CWS finalists Coastal Carolina and LSU? Host schools Creighton and Omaha dish

The programs will have something else in common this weekend — they’ve each beaten a team in the championship round in the past 14 months.

Creighton took a pair of tight midweek home games from Coastal Carolina a season ago. UNO, meanwhile, pulled one of the biggest upsets in college baseball this year when it went to then-No. 3 LSU and claimed the middle game of a three-game series in late February.

The Tigers who rallied past Arkansas in CWS semifinal late Wednesday were the same ones Maverick coach Evan Porter remembers. LSU’s lineup is as relentless as it was a few months ago, when UNO took a no-hitter and 5-0 lead into the eighth inning and survived with a 5-4 victory. LSU had the winning run on base with one out before a Steven Milam flyout ended the game and a disgruntled crowd of 10,000-plus shuffled for the exits.

“They’re one of the toughest teams in the country to put away,” Porter said. “The margin of error is just so small that one mistake or even just something you don’t do exactly right, you’ll pay for it.”

UNO’s winning approach — probably not quite the right word, Porter said — included being “effectively wild” with four pitchers and a few LSU “mis-hits.” The Mavs waited out star pitcher Anthony Eyanson (six scoreless innings, seven strikeouts) and got to the Tiger bullpen with a five-run seventh that was capped by Jackson Trout’s three-run homer.

UNO pitching coach Michael Bradshaw played for LSU coach Jay Johnson when Johnson was at Nevada. He later worked under Johnson for four years, including three at Arizona (2016 through 2018). The connection helped set up the series and gave the Mavs an up-close look at what a championship-caliber club looks like.

LSU practiced some this week at Anderson Field. Johnson sent Porter a thank you text for the hospitality

If Porter were in Coastal’s position now — having won 26 straight games — he wouldn’t change anything based on the opponent. Even, or especially, one brimming with as much pro talent as the Tigers.

“Winning breeds confidence,” Porter said. “I’d ride that feeling of, ‘Yeah, we’re going to win today. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we’re going to find a way.’”

Creighton and Coastal connected a few years ago.

Former Chanticleer coach Gary Gilmore reached out to former CU coach Ed Servais about finding a way to experience the home of the College World Series. The now-retired skippers played a weekend series in Conway, South Carolina, in 2023 with the Chants taking two of three.

The Bluejays returned the favor last April with home wins of 7-3 and 5-4 — CU rallied to take both games in the seventh inning or later. The current Chants underwent notable roster turnover from that group but included CWS stars Caden Bodine and Blake Barthol, who stood out then on an eventual NCAA regional team.

This Coastal group has a little less power but more momentum with the same situational-heavy style of play.

“Right now their confidence is off the charts, as it should be,” Servais said. “I’d make sure to be ready for the early part of those games. They believe they’re going to win.”

That means pitchers throwing strikes and not plunking a Coastal team that leads Division I in being hit by pitches (176). That means scheming defensively so a lineup with 56 sacrifice bunts — top eight nationally — isn’t doing more than advancing runners a base on such plays.

A Coastal winning streak dating to late April has usually meant a quick start. The Chants are outscoring CWS opponents 11-0 in the first two innings. They are 37-2 when scoring first.

“If they score early, it’s going to be because they earned it,” Servais said. “Force them to generate their own offense.”

Servais chuckles at the absurd idea of such a flawless stretch of baseball in an era of nationwide travel, video scouting and detailed analytics. Is Coastal due for some bad luck or is it just relentless at making its own good fortune?

If the game is close into the middle innings, Servais would take his chances. LSU probably will, too.

“Those kinds of numbers are not going to be duplicated very often,” Servais said. “They’ve been able to overcome whatever adversity has been thrown their way so it’s really, really impressive how they’ve been able to do it.”