OMAHA, NE – With the conclusion of the NCAA baseball Super Regional round, two Blythewood High School alums punched their tickets to the College World Series at Charles Schwab field in Omaha, Neb., beginning Friday.
Ty Dooley, a 2021 graduate who played on the 2019 Bengals team that reached the 5A state championship series, is a senior at Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers (53-11) traveled to Auburn (41-20) for their super regional and got a 2-game sweep of the Tigers at Plainsman Park Friday night and Saturday night. They beat Auburn 7-6 in game one and 4-1 in game two to extend their winning streak to 23 games.
Coastal Carolina won the College World Series in 2016.
Zac Cowan, a 2022 graduate, is a junior at LSU. The Tigers (48-15) also swept its super regional at Skip Bertman field in Baton Rouge, beating West Virginia (44-16) 16-9 in game one Saturday night and 12-5 Sunday night.
LSU won the College World Series in 2023.
While Cowan, who has taken on the role as a closer for the Tigers, didn’t have the opportunity to contribute in the Super Regional, he said that watching his teammates take care of business over those two games gave him a good feeling about the team he signed with.
“It’s awesome,” he said one day after LSU clinched another trip to the CWS. “I’m kind of grateful to be in this position where I’m watching my team work together and seeing everything fall into place, and seeing it all come together.”
Cowan transferred to LSU from Wofford after his freshman and sophomore years. At Wofford he was 3-3 with a 6.75 earned-run average as a freshman but started 17 games as a sophomore and racked up a 10-2 record with a 3.35 ERA.
After Wofford’s season, LSU head coach Jay Johnson sought Cowan out.
“He said he wanted me to play a big role in this,” Cowan told Baton Rouge TV station WAFB after Sunday night’s game. “He knew this team could get here (to the CWS) and that’s kind of why he recruited me heavy and felt like I could play a big role in this. I love Coach Johnson. I’m so glad that I’m here.”
Since joining LSU, Cowan has made 21 appearances, with one start. He’s 3-3 with a 3.09 ERA and has six saves.
Being a teammate with several players who were on the 2023 national championship team, and everyone focusing on getting better every day is a big comfort, Cowan said.
“It’s a very needed thing,” he said. “Most teams that make it this far have a trust factor, just having each other’s backs,” Cowan said. “Coach Johnson’s motto for us has been ‘tough and together,’ and the together piece of it has been the No.1 priority and has paid huge dividends for us.”
The Tigers received a No.6 national seed for the NCAA Regionals that opened May 30.
Cowan made his one and only start in the final game of the Baton Rouge Regional June 2. He only lasted 1 1/3 innings and gave up five runs on three hits, but LSU rallied to a 10-6 win over Little Rock to win the regional.
He didn’t see action in the super regional, simply because the Tigers kept well ahead of the Mountaineers throughout the series.
His last impactive mound appearance came as a win in the first game of the Tiger’s SEC series against Arkansas May 9. Cowan pitched three scoreless innings in LSU’s 5-4 win in 10 innings.
Knowing Cowan’s success against the Razorbacks, LSU may reach for him when they open the College World Series against No.3 Arkansas (48-13) either Friday or Saturday.
Will he be ready?
“For sure,” he said. “It’s a must, to be ready when my name is called and
pulling confidence from the good outings, learning from the bad ones, staying
consistent and staying prepared for when my teammates need me.”
Dooley, Coastal Carolina’s starting shortstop, signed with Radford after finishing his time at Blythewood in which he was named to the 5A All-State team in 2020 and 2021. He started every game of the 2022 season as a true freshman, batting .315 with 28 runs batted in.
In his sophomore season in 2023, his first at Coastal, Dooley made 52 starts and played in 57 games, batting .281 with six home runs, six doubles and 37 RBI.
This season Dooley also made 52 starts and played in 57 games. He only hit .213 in 141 at-bats but walked 17 times to bring his on-base percentage up to .331. He has 27 RBI.
The Chanticleers’ series-opening opponent is to be determined as of Monday.
