CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW)- Arizona and Coastal Carolina will play a Game 3 in College World Series tonight to decide the national championship.
The Chanticleers will play the winner-take-all game for their school’s first national championship in any sport. It’s a historic run that’s put the team in the national spotlight.
“It’s amazing, it’s absolutely amazing to see. I graduated before the football program came to fruition so to see the growth in that school and the popularity and the support and the excitement it’s incredible,” Dawn Richardson said.
Richardson owns Grady’s Jewelers in Downtown Conway. She is one of many businesses proudly hanging a Coastal Carolina University outside their stores this week.
“Just the camaraderie, the pride that’s going through. You’ll see in different shops the Coastal items and things and we love to have the students come down,” Richardson said.
It’s that community support that makes the run at the College World Series more special, school leaders say.
“It’s been incredible to see the flags come up, to see the people cheering, to see people stopping you everywhere they go if they see my coastal name tag. Like go Chanticleers, we’re just so excited for the Chanticleers so it could not be a better time for Coastal,” CCU Spokesperson Martha Hunn said.
That extra dose of school spirit has led to an increased demand for CCU merchandise as well.
“Oh, it’s flying off the shelves, especially with this being their highest level of competing. It’s just amazing how things sell and how well they’re doing,” Evan Groome of Papa’s General Store said.
Other businesses are recognizing the CCU baseball team in another way, by offering food specials.
“We’re so proud, almost everyone is of our homegrown baseball champions that we decided this would be one way we could honor them,” Barbara Crady-Whitley of Crady’s said.
Win or lose the community will welcome the team home in a parade Thursday. It will start at the General Aviation gate of Myrtle Beach International Airport where the team arrives. The General Aviation Airport facility is located at 1250 Airdrome Avenue in the Market Common area of Myrtle Beach.
From there, police, vehicles and fire trucks will escort the Chanticleer Motorcade as it travels through the City of Conway. Business owners say they plan to line the streets and cheer the team on.
“Absolutely. I plan to be on the sidewalk, hopefully we’ll all be decked out in teal,” Richardson said.
“Oh definitely, we’ll be cheering them on. no matter how well they do tonight, we know they’re going to give it their best and hopefully bring back that trophy. It’s going to be an awesome experience,” Groome said.