THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
College  | Story | 6/28/2016

Morrison closes from the start

Nick Herfordt
Photo: Coastal Carolina University




2016 College World Series Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8
2016 College World Series Finals Recaps: Game 1

2016 Perfect Game/Rawlings College Baseball All-Americans
2016 Perfect Game Rawlings College Baseball Freshmen All-Americans


OMAHA, Neb. – In a game that ultimately saw Coastal Carolina tie the best-of-three 2016 College World Series Finals with a 5-4 victory over Arizona, the initial outlook looked bleak early for the Chanticleers. Real bleak.

The Chants were in a position where Coach Gary Gilmore had to go off script and start a pitcher in a do-or-die game who hadn’t started a single contest all season. Sure that player was Mike Morrison, an All-American who had put together some magnificent numbers all year, but those numbers were generated out of the Chants’ bullpen, a role where the preparation and mindset are completely different than those of a starting pitcher. Morrison was not only going to be asked to pitch in a different role than he was used to, but he’d have to pitch as many innings as possible to give CCU a chance to play another day.

After the first few batters took to the box, it seemed like Gilmore’s experiment was going to be a failure.

As they’ve done all series, Cody Ramer and Zach Gibbons started things off by reaching base to give Arizona an early pair of runners without a single out. The ‘Cats No. 3 hitter, J.J. Matijevic was called upon to lay down a bunt and advance the runners; it was a bold move which didn’t play out as anticipated by the Arizona coaches. Matijevic failed to put the ball in play and was instead sent back to the bench after he was called out on a bunted third-strike foul.

Nevertheless, Arizona was still in good position to bust out early. A walk loaded the bases to bring Arizona’s most dangerous hitter Bobby Dalbec to the plate. Despite the 6-foot-4 slugger’s potential power the strategy was to play small ball once more. Yet again the Wildcat strategy failed. Dalbec failed to make contact and Ramer, the runner from third, was thrown out after his attempt to scuttle back to safety couldn’t outrace the ball to third. Dalbec would ultimately blast a liner to left which scored a run, but it could have produced a pair had the base running not gone awry.

After being shutout the night before Coastal Carolina would finally score their first runs of the finals in the top of the third. Again, a breakdown in the basics doomed Arizona. Speedy center fielder Billy Cooke rapped a single to left to put a man on. An extremely wild pitch, worthy of a Harry Doyle, “Just a bit outside” quip, allowed him to advance to second. The Chants, whose proficiency with the bunt rivals their ability to hit the long ball, sacrificed Cooke to third.

David Parrett, who had been having success in Omaha but was only batting .159 for the season, skied a ball to the cusp of the left side of the infield, which 999 times out of a thousand would be caught; however this occasion was the one. What would have been the second out of the inning was instead a two-base error. With the two runners in scoring position, Anthony Marks, the Chanticleers’ emotional spark plug, singled up the middle to drive in the runs and gave CCU their first lead.

The bottom of the fourth left few fans with fingernails intact on either side. Arizona once again put their first two batters on base via a single and HBP. A successful sacrifice bunt put both of the runners in scoring position with only one out. Yet Morrison came up big, real big. He dug in and heaved an arsenal of fastballs past the next two batters to earn a pair of strikeouts and culled the attack.

To start Arizona’s half of the fifth, Ramer coaxed a walk out of Morrison to give Arizona a lead off runner as he seemingly has done in every at bat in Omaha. Zach Gibbons followed with his 12th (yes, 12th, not a typo) hit of the series, a single to right, which put runners on the corners with no outs. Morrison banked a strikeout to breathe a little easier, but in the next at-bat, a fielder’s choice tied the game, 2-2. Despite the scoring threat once again, Morrison was able to earn another strikeout, his eighth through five innings to limit the damage once again.

Morrison was able to continue to tame the Wildcats deep into the seventh inning. When he was relieved after 6 2/3 he was welcome to the dugout by a standing ovation from both Coastal Carolina and Arizona fans – although the UA supporters may have been celebrating his departure more than cheering his performance.

It was a momentous outing for Morrison who pitched in what will be his final college appearance on the mound. He did so in style with 103 total pitches and 10 strikeouts, both of which were career highs.

Ultimately there shouldn’t have been second guessing Coach Gilmore’s choice for a starting pitcher. Morrison was seemingly molded for pressure performances. Four times during the season he took to the mound in a bases loaded situation. In each of those four outings he didn’t allow a single runner to cross the plate. Up into this year’s postseason Morrison had inherited 79 runners during his pitching career in Conway and he only allowed 19 of them to score.

After the game Coach Gilmore poured the praise on Morrison.

“You know, to see where that young man came from to where he is today and as good as a pitcher as he has been, in all honesty, his makeup and what he's meant inside that locker room, out in the bullpen… he’s unbelievable.” Gilmore stated.

The 2-2 game continued into the eighth inning when Coastal magnificently manufactured a rally. Marks rudely greeted reliever Cameron Ming into the game with a single up the middle. He was sacrificed over to second with the next at-bat which brought up the Big South Player of the Year to the plate, Connor Owings. Owings’ bat had fallen relatively silent during the CWS, but he managed to hit a lazy lofted ball down the left field line which dodged Arizona’s defensive mitts and allowed Marks to dash home to take the lead, 3-2, and the Chants weren’t done yet.

Remillard doubled down the left field line, which advanced Owings to third. CCU now had two runners in scoring position with only one out. G.K. Young blasted a liner to right field which scored both runners easily. Young got a bit overzealous and tried to stretch his single into a double and was thrown out. The tag quelled the rally but the damage was done. Coastal Carolina had a 5-2 lead.

For all intents and purposes it seemed like the game was over. The Chants had a three-run lead and Arizona only had six outs to make up the difference – an unenviable task, especially in TD Ameritrade Park, which is notoriously unfriendly to offense, but someone forgot to tell Arizona.

Ryan Aguilar singled and a pair of walks loaded the bases with zero outs. Bobby Holmes, the Chants’ pitcher who had relieved Morrison, was instantly in dubious danger. Holmes got the next batter to pop up harmlessly to left and caught another break when he got an out via a run scoring fielder’s choice. The Chants had a two run lead and two outs. The next at bat was to be the final out of the inning. Emphasis on the “was to be…”

A routine grounder was hit to the fundamentally sound shortstop Michael Paez who had been playing model defense throughout the series and the game. As the ball was bounding to his glove he took a quick peak at second base and fumbled the play. The error allowed an unearned run to cross the plate and cut the Coastal lead to one. After a pop-up the inning was over.

Coastal’s top half of the ninth be uneventful. Instead they’d have to protect their one-run lead against the heart of the Arizona offense to close out the game.

Despite his shaky eighth inning, Holmes came back out for the ninth to face the determined Arizona squad. Gibbons, the ‘Cats leading hitter who had been brilliant in Omaha, popped up to first base. Matijevic popped weakly to shortstop. Aguilar, the ‘Cats’ cleanup hitter, lined the ball to first base and it was snagged by Kevin Woodward for out number three. The heart of the order went down in order.

With Carolina’s win the final decisive game of the 2016 College World Series will be played Wednesday night. Arizona will be looking to earn their fifth school title, Coastal Carolina their first.
Give us your feedback
College | Rankings | 3/25/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: March 25
Nick Herfordt
Article Image
Every preseason, analysts and voters pour enormous effort into ranking the small college baseball landscape — poring over returning rosters, transfer additions, coaching changes, and historical trends to assemble the most accurate picture they can of who will be contending when the postseason arrives. And most years, they get it largely right. But the nature of college baseball, with its massive rosters, unpredictable development arcs, and ever-churning transfer portal, guarantees that a handful of genuinely elite programs will slip through the cracks every spring. A team loses too many seniors. A key transfer hasn’t yet suited up. A new coaching staff hasn’t had the chance to prove itself. The voters see the question marks and leave the blank space, and then the season begins and the blank space starts filling itself in — loudly. As the 2026 season heads into its...
Read More
Juco | Rankings | 3/25/2026

JUCO Top 25: March 25

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Another strong week of Juco baseball for teams in our Top 25, and as you may see, our field is the same from a week prior with each and every team handling business in their weekend sets to hold fast to their spots on the board. Some notable movement though inside the Top 5 with Gaston jumping up to number 2 after a 33-2 start to the 2026 season as well Cloud County cracking the Top 15 for the first time all year. Looking forward to watching conference play around the country as we approach the final stretch of the regular season. Rk. School Record 1 Johnson County (KS) 30-2 2 Gaston (NC) 33-2 3 Florida Southwestern (FL) 26-7 4 Walters State (TN) 26-6 5 Chipola (FL) 29-5 6 Florence-Darlington (SC) 29-6 7 Blinn (TX) 22-8 8 McLennan (TX) 20-7 9 Cochise (AZ) 28-6 10 Pearl River (MS) 25-7 11 Georgia Highlands (GA) 30-8 12 Southern Nevada (NV) 24-6 13 Northwest Florida (FL) 21-12 14 Cloud...
Read More
College | Story | 3/24/2026

College Players of the Week: March 24

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
March 24th Perfect Game/Player of the Week: Quinton Coats, IF, Cincinnati The Cincinnati Bearcats (19-7) are on the cusp of the Top 25 and are playing their best ball of the season. The offense has been the driving force behind their success, and it has been incredibly consistent having averaged 8.5-runs per game. In the middle of it all, Quinton Coats, is on pace for a historic season both within the program and on a national level. The 6-3/225 infielder from Olathe, KS has been launching home runs at a record pace and opponents seem to be powerless to stop his onslaught. With incredible strength in his hands, Coats creates easy loft and in 5 road games last week he collected 9 hits in 20 at-bats, with 4 home runs, 9 runs scored, and he drove in a total of 9 runs as well. As for his pursuit of history, the modern day BBCOR bat standard single season home run record is 34, set back in...
Read More
College | Recruiting | 3/23/2026

Recruiting Notebook: March 23

Ryan Miller
Article Image
High speed look at the FF-SL from '27 SS/RHP Harry Chubb Jones Jr. (GA)... #BeastoftheEast @PG_Uncommitted @PG_Georgia https://t.co/zXWgDJjU0y pic.twitter.com/GUIUN4tWmw — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) June 25, 2025 Harry Chubb Jones Jr., RHP/SS, Class of 2027 Commitment: Alabama Jones recently flipped his commitment from Clemson to Alabama, landing Rob Vaughn and staff a high-end two-way talent in the ’27 class. The Georgia native possesses tremendous upside on the mound, working from a long and lean right-handed frame that displays projection and athleticism. Jones starts over the face before working to the belt and into a higher pronounced leg lift. He fires down the mound via a standard-length arm action and high three-quarters slot. Chubb’s fastball/slider combination and feel for the zone, with the heater showcasing run/ride traits and power into the high-90s....
Read More
College | Rankings | 3/22/2026

College Top 25: March 23

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Time flies when you are having fun and the fact that we are almost to the halfway point of the 2026 season, proves just how entertaining things have been to this point. In what was an ultra-impactful week on the national landscape, there are some clubs fading out of the limelight while others are emerging from the shadows and showing they are a force to be reconned with. Conference play always makes the big picture come into view and we are now getting a feel for who the true contenders may be as the grind begins. The UCLA Bruins (21-2) keep their stranglehold on the top spot in the land as they remain unchallenged since the start of Big Ten play and finished the week with a (4-0) record. The Texas Longhorns (20-3) did lose back-to-back games this week but showed their resilience by winning an intense road series against now No. 7 Auburn (19-4). Georgia Tech (19-5) also had a (2-2) week...
Read More
Draft | Rankings | 3/20/2026

2026 Draft Board: Top 300

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The 2026 MLB Draft class is shaping up to be one of the better in recent memory and, potentially, the best class in the last decade. It’s led by UCLA superstar shortstop Roch Cholowsky, a true five-tool prospect who’s the early favorite for 1:1. One of the most popular pieces of industry feedback when constructing this list was some variation of “Roch is too low” or “go up on Roch” and he’s the best college prospect since 2019 when Adley Rutschman (Oregon State, Orioles) was the consensus No. 1 prospect. Similarly to 2019, there’s a superstar Texas prep shortstop at No. 2, in 2019 it was Bobby Witt Jr. (Colleyville Heritage, Royals) and this year it’s Grady Emerson. Both Emerson and Alabama’s Justin Lebron would have been solid 1:1 candidates in years where Roch Cholowsky is not eligible and both have All-Star potential....
Read More
High School | General | 3/23/2026

High School Notebook: March 23

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Talon Brown (‘29 CA) showing some intriguing stuff over 2.1 IP running the FB up to 89, living 86-88 while mixing in a BB at 77. FB heavy on the day w/ a limited pitch count. 6-4, 205-lb w/ an athletic operation working down the bump #PGHS pic.twitter.com/HkLmJHrB1W — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) March 14, 2026 Talon Brown 2029 RHP, Christian Brown features an advanced 6-foot-4, 205-pound, athletic, projectable frame.  The freshman has made two appearances on the young season working four-innings without allowing a hit or run and has struck out seven opposing hitters.  It’s an easy, downhill operation and the ball jumps out of the hand, using the four-seam often that has ride through the zone, sitting 85-88 and topping out at 89.  The breaking ball showed 11-5 shape with depth spinning it at 1900 RPM+.  Brown features an athletic...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 3/19/2026

PG Teams Up with OZ Ball Tournaments PTY

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME NAMES OZ BALL TOURNAMENTS PTY AS OFFICIAL AREA DIRECTOR IN AUSTRALIA, EXPANDING GLOBAL FOOTPRINT   Sanford, Florida (Thursday, March 19, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that it has entered into a new international partnership with Oz Ball Tournaments Pty, naming the organization as an official Perfect Game Area Director in Australia. The agreement establishes Perfect Game-licensed tournaments and showcases across major Australian markets, including Sydney, Brisbane/Gold Coast, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.     Australian events will operate under the Perfect Game brand, delivering the same...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 3/18/2026

PG Introduces Individual Player Entry

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME INTRODUCES INDIVIDUAL PLAYER ENTRY, EXPANDING ACCESS TO ELITE NATIONAL EVENTS   Athletes Can Now Compete in Select National Tournaments Through Structured ‘Team PG’ Rosters   Sanford, Florida (Wednesday, March 18, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the launch of Individual Player Entry, a new initiative designed to provide athletes the opportunity to compete in select national events even if their primary team is not attending.   Through the program, players can now register individually and be placed on a structured “Team PG” roster, allowing them to participate fully in...
Read More
Juco | Rankings | 3/18/2026

JUCO Top 25: March 18

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
This week brings a new top team to the rankings as Johnson County (KS), on the strength of 10 consecutive wins and a 26-2 record, claims the overall number 1 spot. The Cavaliers have made 3 consecutive trips to the JUCO World Series and have the talent to make it back there again this spring. Florida Southwestern and Chipola have seemingly separated themselves as the most consistent teams in Florida. Welcome to the top 5 to the Gaston Rhinos who will be one of the first teams to 30 wins this spring. Pearl River stays as the top NJCAA D2 team and Fresno City stays as the top Juco team in California; both are coming off undefeated 2 week stretches. Welcome back to the top 25 to John A. Logan who is now 20-7 overall and have played one of the toughest schedules of anyone. And for the first time in several years welcome to the top 25 to the College of Southern Idaho, the Golden Eagles have...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.