Coastal Carolina has punched its ticket to the 2025 College World Series finals.
No. 13 Coastal Carolina picked up an 11-3 victory over Louisville to move to 3-0 in the CWS at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 18. They advance to the best-of-three-game championship series for the second time in program history.
Coastal Carolina has won 26 consecutive games, which is the longest in the nation. It will play the winner of the LSU-Arkansas semifinal in the championship series. The Chanticleers, which won the 2016 national championship, scored six runs in the first inning, aided by a three-run double by Colby Thorndyke.
Thorndyke drove in five runs in the win. Walker Mitchell and Dean Mihos each drove in two runs. Riley Eikhoff earned the start, his second of the CWS. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, with four strikeouts and one walk.
Eikhoff had plenty of run support as the Chanticleers scored six runs in the first inning, two in each of the fifth and sixth innings and one in the eighth.
Louisville had beaten No. 8 Oregon State 7-6 on a walk-off in the ninth inning to stave off elimination and earn a spot in the semifinals. However, they could not overcome a big first inning from Coastal Carolina.
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Coastal Carolina vs Louisville live score
Coastal Carolina vs Louisville live update
Final: Coastal Carolina 11, Louisville 3
Coastal Carolina beats Louisville 11-3 to advance to the College World Series championship. The Chanticleers have won 26 straight games and advance to their second CWS finals. They scored six runs in the first inning and never looked back.
End of eighth inning: Coastal Carolina 11, Louisville 3
Colby Thorndyke single drives in another Coastal Carolina run
Colby Thorndyke singles to drive in Blake Barthol for the 11th run of the game for Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers lead 11-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Louisville makes pitching change in eighth
Louisville sends out pitcher Ty Starke with two outs and a runner on second in the bottom of the eighth inning to replace Peter Michael.
Louisville down to final three outs
Louisville is down to its final three outs after Hayden Johnson records a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eighth inning.
End of seventh inning: Coastal Carolina 10, Louisville 3
End of sixth inning: Coastal Carolina 10, Louisville 3
Colby Thorndyke plates another run
Colby Thorndyke is hit by a pitch and with the bases loaded, it plates another run. Coastal Carolina leads 10-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Blake Barthol drives in ninth run for Coastal Carolina
Blake Barthol drives in the ninth run of the game for Coastal Carolina on an RBI single to left field. Barthol drives in Sebastian Alexander, who advances to second base on a balk called on Ethan Eberle.
It’s 9-3 Coastal Carolina.
Ethan Eberle enters in sixth inning for Louisville
Lefty starter Ethan Eberle is entering the game for Louisville in the bottom of the sixth inning. Eberle comes on for Jack Brown with a runner on first and two outs.
The second out of the inning came on a perfect throw from right fielder Eddie King Jr., throwing out Wells Sykes trying to advance to third on a single.
Kamau Neighbors makes it 8-3; forces pitching change
Kamau Nieghbors with an RBI knock through the right side to score Tague Davis from third base. Garret Pike advances to third on the hit. It’s 8-3 Coastal Carolina. Neighbors has eight hits out of the nine-spot this CWS.
Matthew Potok records one out and is done. Lefty Hayden Johnson will come on to face Alex Alicea.
Garret Pike drives in second Louisville run
Garret Pike singles through the right side to score Eddie King Jr. from third base. Tague Davis is held up a third base with two outs.
End of the line for Riley Eikhoff in sixth inning
Riley Eikhoff’s day is over following 5 1/3 innings of work. Eickoff gave up one run on seven hits, but is responsible for the two runners on base.
Matthew Potok is on to pitch for the Chanticleers.
Tague Davis gets Louisville on the board
Louisville is finally on the board in the top of the sixth inning. Tague Davis hits a double to score Jake Munroe from second base. The Cardinals have runners on second and third with one out.
End of fifth inning: Coastal Carolina 8, Louisville 0
Dean Mihos extends Coastal Carolina lead with 2-run triple
Dean Mihos hits one to the right-center gap and it finds the wall to plate two more runs for Coastal Carolina. Mihos gets to third on the triple. It’s 8-0 Chanticleers.
Jack Brown enters in relief in fifth inning for Louisville
Louisville coach Dan McDonnell is making another pitching change with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jack Brown will take over on the mound for TJ Schlageter.
Louisville fails to score runner in scoring position
Kamau Neighbors picks up a single and takes second base on an error by the centerfielder with one out in the top of the fifth inning. However, Riley Eikhoff is able to retire the next two hitters on groundball outs to escape with another scoreless inning.
Eikhoff has allowed four hits and walked one with four strikeouts in his five innings of work. He is at 88 pitches, so it’ll be interesting to see how much more the Chanticleers can get out of him.
End of fourth inning: Coastal Carolina 6, Louisville 0
Coastal Carolina leads 6-0 through four innings
Coastal Carolina is still riding its six-run first inning to lead 6-0 through four innings. Louisville’s relievers have come in and done a good job of shutting down the Chanticleers. The Cardinals’ offense has yet to find a run off Riley Eikhoff
End of third inning: Coastal Carolina 6, Louisville 0
Louisville makes pitching change
Louisville coach Dan McDonnell goes to the bullpen again. This time TJ Schlageter will come in for Jake Schweitzer. Blagen Pado worked a five-pitch walk to bring up Colby Thorndyke to the dish with one on and one out.
Thorndyke had the three-RBI double off Schweitzer in the first inning.
Blake Barthol turns double play
A promising Louisville third inning turned sour quickly. The Cardinals first the first two hitters of the inning reached with leadoff hitter Alex Alicea at the plate. Alicea lined out to second baseman Blake Barthol, who took the ball unassisted to get Garret Pike out at second.
End of second inning: Coastal Carolina 6, Louisville 0
Coastal Carolina, Louisville trade 1-2-3 second innings
Following an explosive first inning from the Chanticleers, we have a slower second inning with Riley Eikhoff and Jake Schweitzer trading 1-2-3 innings. Schweitzer struck out a pair in the inning for Louisville.
End of first inning: Coastal Carolina 6, Louisville 0
Coastal Carolina scores six runs in first inning
Coastal Carolina just needs one win to advance to the championship series. The Chanticleers did not mess around in the first inning with a six spot. Walker Mitchell had a two-RBI single, while Colby Thorndyke added a three-run double and Ty Dooley had an RBI single.
Coastal Carolina forced Colton Hartman from the game just six batters in.
Ty Dooley drives in another Coastal Carolina run
Ty Dooley takes one down the middle through the second baseman and shortstop to plate Colby Thorndyke and it is 6-0 Coastal Carolina in the bottom of the first inning.
Colby Thorndyke drives in three with double
Colby Thorndyke turns on a 2-2 pitch and delivers a three-run double to give Coastal Carolina a 5-0 lead. Thorndyke is in scoring position and there are still no outs.
Jake Schweitzer relieves Colton Hartman in first inning
Just five batters and 17 pitches in, Louisville has to make a pitching change as Jake Schweitzer takes over for Colton Hartman on the bump.
Hartman hit two batters and walked another on four pitches. He allows two runs and is responsible for all three runners on base.
Walker Mitchell gives Coastal Carolina a 2-0 lead
Walker Mitchell gets a two-RBI single down the right field line to give Coastal a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Chancleteers have runners on the corners and zero out.
Bases loaded for Coastal Carolina in bottom of first
Three batters in, Coastal Carolina has the bases loaded with no one out following a single and two hit by pitches.
Riley Eikhoff works scoreless first inning
Riley Eikhoff works a scoreless first inning despite a lead-off single and stolen base from Alex Alicea. Eikhoff retires three straight hitters with a runner in scoring position to keep Louisville off the board in the top of the first inning.
College World Series semifinal underway
Riley Eikhoff fires a first pitch strike and the semifinal round of the 2025 College World Series is officially underway. Louisville needs to beat Coastal Carolina twice to advance to the championship series, while the Chanticleers need just one more win.
Pregame
Coastal Carolina designated home team
Riley Eikhoff will toe the rubber first in this one, as Coastal Carolina serves as the designated home team. Eikhoff will face switch-hitter Alex Alicea to start the game.
Coastal Carolina starting lineup vs Louisville
Here’s a look at the Chanticleers’ lineup against the Cardinals on June 18 in the CWS elimination game:
Cadine Bodine, C
Sebastian Alexander, LF
Blake Barthol, 2B
Walker Mitchell, 3B
Blagen Pado, RF
Colby Thorndyke, 1B
Dean Mihos, DH
Ty Dooley, SS
Wells Skyes, CF
Riley Eikhoff starting on mound for Coastal Carolina vs Louisville
Riley Eikhoff is on the mound to start for Coastal Carolina vs. Louisville. Eikoff has a 6-2 record with a 2.98 ERA in 84 2/3 innings in 2025 with 67 strikeouts and 10 walks.
In his last outing, Eikhoff went four innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits against Arizona. He struck out four hitters and did not walk any.
Louisville starting lineup vs Coastal Carolina
Here’s a look at the Cardinals’ starting lineup against the Chanticleers on June 18 in the CWS semifinal game:
Alex Alicea, SS
Lucas Moore, CF
Matt Klein, C
Jake Munroe, 3B
Eddie King Jr., RF
Tague Davis, 1B
Zion Rose, LF
Garret Pike, DH
Kamau Neighbors, SS
Colton Hartman gets start for Louisville vs Coastal Carolina
Colton Hartman gets the start for Louisville vs. Coastal Carolina. The sophomore left-handed pitcher has a 2-0 record with a 9.00 ERA in 17 innings in 2025. Hartman has collected 20 strikeouts and walked 16 hitters.
Hartman’s last appearance was on May 17 was Wake Forest. He pitched a scoreless inning, allowing two walks and striking out a batter.
What time does Coastal Carolina vs Louisville baseball start?
Date: Wednesday, June 18
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Where: Charles Schwab Field Omaha (Omaha, Neb.)
Coastal Carolina and Louisville are scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET first pitch at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, in a CWS semifinal game. If the Cardinals win, they force an if-necessary game on June 19.
What TV channel is Coastal Carolina vs Louisville baseball on today?
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN app | ESPN+ | Fubo (free trial)
The CWS semifinal game between Coastal Carolina and Louisville will air on ESPN. Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Ben McDonald (analyst) and Eduardo Pérez (analyst) and Dani Wexelman (reporter) will be on the call.
Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app (with a TV login), ESPN+ – ESPN’s subscription streaming service – and Fubo, the last of which carries ESPN and offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
Coastal Carolina vs Louisville baseball predictions, picks, odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Wednesday, June 16
Spread: Coastal Carolina (-2.5)
Over/under: 11.5 runs
Moneyline: Coastal Carolina (-275) | Louisville (+200)
College World Series schedule
The College World Series began on June 13 and will run through June 22 or 23, depending on whether the championship series requires two or three games. Here is a more detailed look at the latest college baseball schedule and NCAA Tournament bracket update.
College World Series: June 13-22/23
CWS finals: June 21-22/23