The White Sox are going to have to wait a little longer for two members of their 2016 MLB Draft class to join their farm system.
Coastal Carolina closer Mike Morrison (27th round) and third baseman Zach Remillard (10th round) have played a major role in the Chanticleers magical postseason run which has them one win away from a College World Series championship after Tuesday's thrilling 5-4 win against Arizona.
With a depleted pitching staff, Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore turned to his senior closer to make just his third career college start in an effort to even the best-of-three series at 1-1.
Gilmore's decision paid off.
Morrison tossed a career-high 103 pitches on the biggest stage of his career, limiting Arizona to just two runs while matching a College World Series finals record with 10 strikeouts. Morrison was pulled after just 6 2/3 innings. Although he didn't get the victory, Morrison gave Coastal Carolina the quality start they needed.
Before exiting the mound, a teary-eyed Morrison embraced pitching coach Drew Thomas and reliever Bobby Holmes, then walked to the dugout to a standing ovation from the 24,716 in attendance.
“I put my heart and soul into this program for four years, man, and to end it like that, I mean, that was special,” Morrison said via Josh Planos of KETV.com. “That standing ovation was probably the coolest things that’s ever going to happen in my entire life.”
Morrison presumably finishes his season with a record of 8-1 and a 1.50 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 72 innings.
MLB
While Morrison will be watching the winner-take-all Game 3 from the sidelines, Remillard, who scored the game-winning run Tuesday night, will try to ignite the Chanticleers offense batting out of the cleanup spot.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014, Remillard has rebounded into one of the nation's premier hitters — he's no slouch with the glove either. The New York native has a slash line of .345/.392/.617 with 19 homers and 72 RBI this season.
As the soon-to-be White Sox aim to bring some hardware back home, their former teammate and current White Sox prospect will be cheering them on from Charlotte.