The Slipper Fits: Fresno State Wins First NCAA Baseball Title

Congratulations Fresno State Bulldogs!!! A great postseason has capped off a Cinderella like fairy tale in one of the most improbable runs in College World Series history.

Steve Detwiler homered twice and drove in all six runs for Fresno State and starting pitcher Justin Wilson allowed five hits in eight innings to culminate Fresno State’s journey to its first ever title.

The team was believed to be a Top 25 team coming into the season, but the Bulldogs lost 12 of their first 20 games and looked as though they may finish dead last in their conference. The Bulldogs needed to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament just to make the final field of 64, fought off elimination in both the regionals and super regionals, and became the first #4 regional seed to reach the College World Series.

From ESPN:

Fresno State entered the NCAA tournament with a pedestrian 33-27 record and a No. 4 seed in the Long Beach Regional. Six weeks later, the Bulldogs have become the first regional 4-seed to win a national championship. They finished as the lowest-seeded team in college sports history to claim an NCAA team championship, staying alive with victories in six elimination games -- including two against Georgia.

"We've been through a lot, there's no doubt," Fresno State pitcher Jason Breckley said. "I'll admit, I thought we were going down a couple of times on that plane ride here. But it just makes everything that much sweeter with what we were able to accomplish."

"When we got to the regional, they told us that the only advantage a No. 4 team gets is getting dinner first," Fresno State right fielder Steve Detwiler said. "We all laughed about that at the time. But it's amazing. As much as we were underdogs out here, we just tried to go out and have fun."

This marks the third straight year a team from the West Coast has won the NCAA Title (Oregon State won each of the previous two years).

From the San Jose Mercury News:

"Pride is forever," Detwiler said. Wilson added, "It was pretty awesome. I can't believe it."

That pretty much sums it up. Congratulations Fresno State!!! One hell of a run!!! Someone call the BCS in football so they can see what a tournament is all about!