Fresno State Bulldogs Are National Champions!

The College World Series (CWS) of 2008 ended June 25th with a history making win in Omaha by the Fresno State Bulldog baseball team. Of course they had already broken records to even make it to the series, then broke some more while there. Excitement poured over into the streets of Fresno as their Bulldogs ended the game with a decisive win. Shaw Avenue was closed for two hours with fans celebrating in the streets, and from the excited honking horns and elated faces it seemed no one minded a little traffic delay.

These Fresno boys were classy and composed all the way through the series. They would lose more than once and then rally to come back after facing elimination games. They fought injury and fatigue and played a more rested opponent in the final game, and ended up victorious. These young men should and will be filled with pride when they come down off the cloud they are on. They've brought respect to a Fresno State athletic program that has faced some setbacks and bad press in other sports. The Cinderella team they were being called. Pitcher Martin when interviewed said forget Cinderella team we are the Bulldogs!

Was it as easy as the last game made it seem? Absolutely not, but they came through when needed. The boys rallied from a pretty bad beginning to their season. They lost their star pitcher for the year. They went on to win the Western Conference title (WAC) and earned a spot in the CWS as the lowest ranked team to ever make it to the series. History was already made but they couldn't just leave it at that. They have become the lowest ranked team (unranked in all the stories about college teams) to win a National Championship in any sport in college history, ever. The team led by the seemingly calm coach Mike Batesole just couldn't be stopped.

The stars of the series couldn't have done it without the faith and support of their entire team, but there were some stars. Fresno State earned five spots on the All Tournament team: Pitcher Justin Wilson, second baseman Eric Wetzel, outfielders Steve Susdorf and Steve Detwiler, and third baseman Tommy Mendonca.

Wilson pitched 8 innings, struck out 9 players, allowed only 5 hits and held Georgia to one home run in the eighth inning. Susdorf and Wetzel had key hits and outstanding play during the series. Tommy Mendonca had huge home runs and hits and outstanding catches at third base, all done with several dislocated fingers, to become the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. But Wednesday night was Steve Detwiler night. The outfielder with a torn tendon in his thumb started the scoring with a two run homer, added another run with a double almost to the fence, and batted in a three run homer to make the score 6 to 1. That's right, he batted in every single run of the game. To top the night of a lifetime off, he also caught the final ball of the game and could be seen pocketing that well deserved souvenier as he ran to join his teammates in celebration. Outstanding!

You will inspire "underdog" teams for years to come with what you accomplished. Apparently being called the underdogs brought you all closer together and more determined to prove everyone wrong. None of that matters right now, so enjoy the celebrations, and know you will never forget what happened Wednesday night. Congratulations Fresno State Bulldogs!