An Unforgettable Run Ends With a Title

Words cannot accurately describe what the Fresno State men’s baseball team has accomplished in winning the national championship at the College World Series. The Bulldogs finished off an extraordinary tournament, cruising past #8 Georgia 6-1 in the championship game of the World Series to capture their first-ever NCAA title in baseball. Entering the tournament as one of the final 16 teams selected, Mike Batesole’s crew made the most of the their opportunity. Over the last 26 days, this team handled obstacle after obstacle that has been presented to them, and navigated a trail that no other collegiate sports program has ever done.

Through it all, the Bulldogs captured the imagination of a nation that loves its underdog story. In collegiate terms, this accomplishment is what the USA hockey team did in 1980, upsetting heavily favored opponents en route to being a champion. No one believed the U.S. had a chance back then and it would be an understatement to say that very few believed the Bulldogs could do this. It’s not often that we see something this improbable. Every year, the college basketball tournament has its share of Cinderella’s, but at some time or another, the clock strikes midnight. George Mason and Davidson have given everyone hope, but even they fell short. You have to go back 24 years to Villanova’s upset of Georgetown to find something even remotely close to what has just taken place in Omaha.

Throughout the tournament, their resolve was uncanny; they faced an elimination game in every round they took part in, and went 6-0 in those games. In those six do-or-die games, the Bulldogs outscored their opponents 56-28. During their time in Omaha, the Bulldogs tied a World Series record by scoring 62 runs during their stay and were the only team that hit more than six home runs over the two weeks. They hit 14. On Sunday, the Bulldogs spot in the championship was in real jeopardy after they allowed an eighth inning lead to disintegrate against #2 North Carolina. Fresno State was forced to bounce back the next day and win an elimination game against the Tar Heels. They went on to win and faced the exact same situation in the finals against Georgia, only this time they had to do it twice. Fresno State responded by manhandling their Bulldog counterparts, outscoring them 25-11 in the last two games of the series.

On Wednesday night, it was two men, Justin Wilson and Steven Detwilder, that the team rode to victory. However, anyone will tell you that the contributors have been omnipresent during Fresno State’s march through the tournament. Many would say that freshman Danny Muno had a championship game to forget, committing three errors at shortstop in the biggest game of his life. However, it was Muno, who anchored Fresno State’s 17-run barrage in their CWS opener against Rice by getting five hits and six RBI, both career highs. The same could be said for CWS Most Outstanding Player Tommy Mendoca, who went 0-4 with two strikeouts in the deciding game. But it was Mendoca's towering home runs and rock solid defense at third all postseason long that put the Bulldogs in the situation they were in. Yet even when their superstars weren’t coming through when their team needed it, Fresno State still managed to get the job done.

In the decider, WIlson was emphatically dominant, holding down the Georgia Bulldogs all night. If not for a Gordon Beckham home run in the bottom of the eighth, Wilson would have tossed a shut-out. Over eight innings, the sophomore struck out nine and worked out of some jams early in the game to boost his team’s morale. Offensively, Detwilder did everything, knocking in all six of his team’s runs on two home runs and a towering double in the left center field gap to single handedly dash Georgia's hope of a national title. It was only fitting that the right fielder recorded the last out of the championship series on a line drive hit to his left.

With that catch, these Bulldogs had secured themselves in the history books and in our memories forever. It's moments like these that truly make you understand what amazing things can be done in the competive arena of sport.