The chance to play elite college baseball in the southern United States drew Blake Barthol to Coastal Carolina.
He and the Chanticleers are two wins away from the biggest stage the Division I level offers.
Barthol, a Parkland High graduate, is expected to start, play second base and hit in the middle of the lineup Friday when Coastal Carolina opens a Super Regional at Auburn, the No. 4 national seed. The winner of the best-of-three matchup advances to the NCAA Division I College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Barthol has gone from a player Coastal Carolina didn’t know about until the summer before his senior year at Parkland to a driving force in its success. The junior has started all 123 games for the Chanticleers the past two seasons and 169 of the 175 games he has played in during his career.
His last three games were the most important to date. He went 4-for-15 with two runs and one RBI as Coastal Carolina beat Fairfield once and East Carolina twice to win the Conway Regional it hosted in Conway, South Carolina. Those wins pushed the Chanticleers into their fourth Super Regional all-time and first since they won the national title in 2016.
“This year has been my favorite season,” Barthol said in a recent phone interview. “This team, we feel like we’re more together, more of a brotherhood. Sometimes the pitchers and position players can be divided a little bit, but this year we definitely focused more on just being a whole group.
“[Coach Kevin] Schnall, in the beginning of the year, told the captains and leaders to get everyone together more often, and that’s what we’ve done. That’s definitely helped us in the long run.”
Coastal Carolina (51-11) rolls into the Auburn Super Regional riding a 21-game winning streak. Barthol has played some of his best baseball during the run.
He has at least one hit in 18 games during the winning streak and hasn’t had back-to-back hitless games over that stretch. He currently has a nine-game hitting streak that includes five multi-hit games.
Barthol’s recent success has continued his rebound from a slow start. He was hitting just .213 through 22 games but has boosted his average to .281 entering the Auburn Super Regional.
Barthol leads Coastal Carolina with 12 home runs, ranks second with 50 RBIs and is third with 49 runs. He also has 12 stolen bases after totaling 11 steals his first two seasons.
“I definitely struggled,” Barthol said. “It’s been a grind, but the coaching staff has helped me alot, especially C.O., Connor Owings.
“He came on the staff right before the season started and kind of took me under his wing and really supported me with that. That just comes down to going back to being myself — staying back on baseballs, hitting the ball the other way, let it get deep and then just trusting my ability to play the game and play the game freely.”
One team stands in the way of Barthol and Coastal Carolina in their quest to reach Omaha. Auburn also swept its regional last weekend and is hosting a Super Regional for the first time in program history.
The Tigers have faced elite competition all season while playing in the SEC. They are after their first College World Series berth since 2022.
Barthol is ready for the spotlight this weekend will bring. After all, it’s why he landed at Coastal Carolina.
“Auburn’s a phenomenal team,” Barthol said. “Like we are, they’re one of 16 teams left in the country to be playing college baseball right now, so that’s pretty cool.
“I expect the atmosphere to be unbelievable, a lot of fans. It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Auburn Super Regional schedule
Friday, June 6 — 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Saturday, June 7 — 3 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Sunday, June 8 — TBD (TBD) — IF NECESSARY
Stephen Miller is a freelance writer.
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