Destiny's Dogs
Robert J. Meyer/US Presswire
The 47-31 Bulldogs won their first national championship Wednesday.
For the past six weeks, Fresno State has continually defied the odds. On Wednesday night, the Bulldogs stunned national 8-seed Georgia, and in the process, rewrote the history books. Tim Griffin
• Mag: Hats off | Dogs' day | Watch: Highlights | Postgame | Analysis
• Around the Horn | SportsNation: All-time upsets | Top title teams
• Around the Horn | SportsNation: All-time upsets | Top title teams
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Around the Horn: Out of this world Holden Sprague yielded eight hits and five runs in a less-than-stellar 3 1/3-inning effort. But considering the way Fresno State was hitting in Game 2, just gobbling up a few innings was huge for the Bulldogs' beleaguered pitching staff. |
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Griffin: Plucky Bulldogs continue to defy odds After surrendering a three-run lead in Game 1 and falling into a 5-0 hole early in Game 2, most teams would have thrown in the towel. But Fresno State's struggles early in the season taught the Bulldogs how to bounce back from adversity. |
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Around the Horn: Can the Bulldogs bounce back? Fresno State is no stranger to adversity. The Bulldogs haven't seen home in weeks and seemingly half the lineup is playing through pain. But can the Bulldogs recapture the magic and push the CWS finals to three games? |
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Kimmey: Burning College World Series finals questions With Fresno State advancing to the best-of-three CWS finals to face Georgia, there's a great chance college baseball could see its first (Bull)dog pile featuring a team with more than 23 losses. |
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Griffin: Beckham calls the shots in Game 1 of CWS finals After a quiet start to the CWS, Georgia's All-American shortstop, Gordon Beckham, exploded in Game 1 of the finals. His two-run blast in the eighth ignited a four-run rally that put the Dawgs in the driver's seat. |
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Around the Horn: Magic Men Fresno State third baseman Erik Wetzel expected big things from the Bulldogs. But even he must be surprised by his team's historic run through the NCAA tournament -- all the way to the College World Series finals. |
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McKeever: 'What a difference a year makes' As a player, Dave Perno was a member of Georgia's only national championship team. As a coach, he's led the Dawgs from a disappointing 2007 campaign to the College World Series finals. |
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McKeever: Positive reinforcement The biggest difference between last season's 23-33 Georgia squad and the CWS finals-bound Dawgs? Rich Poythress and his Georgia teammates have perfected the art of positive thinking. |
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Around the Horn: Flack Attack Chad Flack has come up big for North Carolina in the past. But there was perhaps no bigger stage than on Saturday night, when Flack hit a two-run home run to extend the Tar Heels' stay in Omaha. |
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Around the Horn: Senior Moment On Tuesday, Jared Bradford threw 106 pitches to help LSU eliminate Rice. Three days later, his 76-pitch effort in 5 2/3 innings kept LSU even with UNC. Bradford left it all on the mound and ended his career with two memorable performances. |
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McKeever: Aces of Bases Tim Federowicz's ninth-inning grand slam that gave Carolina a 7-3 lead may have been the play of the day. But you need to look to the mound, not the plate, if you want the real reason the Heels survived an elimination game against LSU. |
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Around the Horn: Miami's offense falters Miami had the most powerful and feared offense in the country all season long. But the Hurricanes offense faltered against some good Stanford pitching, ending the No. 1 overall seed's season. |
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McKeever: Pitching combo extends Stanford's season Stanford pitchers Danny Sandbrink and Erik Davis split the workload against Miami and stifled the Hurricanes' offense to keep the Cardinal's season alive. |
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McKeever: Miami runs out of steam It's not always the best team that wins the College World Series, as Miami learned the hard way. The No. 1-seeded Hurricanes' offense faltered at the wrong time against Stanford in their elimination game. |
| 2008 College World Series schedule | |||
Double elimination
June 14
Sunday, June 15
Monday, June 16
Tuesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 18
Thursday, June 19 UNC 7, LSU 3 … LSU is eliminated.
Saturday, June 21
Sunday, June 22
Finals
Tuesday, June 24
Wednesday, June 25 | |||
College World Series Champion
| Team Capsules |
| Fresno State Bulldogs |
Record: 47-31Seed: Regional No. 4 CWS results: Defeated Rice, 17-5; Defeated UNC, 5-3; Lost to UNC, 4-3; Defeated UNC, 6-1; Lost to Georgia, 7-6; Defeated Georgia, 19-10; Defeated Georgia, 6-1 How they advanced: Won Long Beach Regional; won Tempe Super Regional CWS appearances: 4 (1959, '88, '91, 2008) NCAA championships: 1 (2008) |
Eliminated College World Series Teams
| Team Capsules |
| Florida State Seminoles |
Record: 54-14Seed: No. 4 overall CWS results: Lost to Stanford, 16-5; lost to Miami, 7-5 How they advanced: Won Tallahassee Regional; won Tallahassee Super Regional CWS appearances: 19 (1957, '62, '63, '65, '70, '75, '80, '86, '97, '89, '91, '92, '94, '95, '96, '98, '99, 2000, '08) NCAA championships: 0 |
| Georgia Bulldogs |
Record: 44-25-1Seed: No. 8 overall CWS results: Defeated Miami, 7-4; Defeated Stanford, 4-3; Defeated Stanford, 10-8; Defeated Fresno State, 7-6; Lost to Fresno State, 19-10; Lost to Fresno State 6-1 How they advanced: Won Athens Regional; won Athens Super Regional CWS appearances: 6 (1987, '90, 2001, '04, '06, '08) NCAA championships: 1 (1990) |
| Stanford Cardinal |
Record: 41-24-2Seed: No. 1 regional CWS results: Defeated Florida State, 16-5; lost to Georgia, 4-3; defeated Miami, 8-3; lost to Georgia, 10-8 How they advanced: Won Stanford Regional; won Fullerton Super Regional CWS appearances: 16 (1953, '67, '82, '83, '85, '87, '88, '90, '95, '97, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '08) NCAA championships: 2 (1987, '88) |
| LSU Tigers |
Record: 49-19-1Seed: No. 7 overall CWS results: Lost to UNC, 8-4; defeated Rice, 6-5; lost to UNC, 7-4 How they advanced: Won Baton Rouge Regional; won Baton Rouge Super Regional CWS appearances: 14 (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, '03, '04, '08) NCAA championships: 5 (1991, '93. '96, '97, 2000) |
| Miami Hurricanes |
Record: 53-11Seed: No. 1 overall CWS results: Lost to Georgia, 7-4; defeated Florida State 7-5; lost to Stanford, 8-3 How they advanced: Won Coral Gables Regional; won Coral Gables Super Regional CWS appearances: 23 (1971, '74, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '84, '85, '86, '88, '89, '92, '94, '95, '97, '98, '99, 2001, '03, '04, '06, '08) NCAA championships: 4 (1982, '85, '99, 2001) |
| North Carolina Tar Heels |
Record: 55-13Seed: No. 2 overall CWS results: Defeated LSU, 8-4; lost to Fresno State, 5-3; defeated LSU, 7-4; defeated Fresno State, 4-3; lost to Fresno State, 6-1 How they advanced: Won Cary Regional; won Cary Super Regional CWS appearances: 7 (1960, '66, '78, '89, 2006, '07, '08) NCAA championships: 0 |
| Rice Owls |
Record: 47-15Seed: No. 6 overall CWS results: Lost to Fresno State, 17-5; lost to Rice, 6-5 How they advanced: Won Houston Regional; won Houston Super Regional CWS appearances: 7 (1997, '99, 2002, '03, '06, '07, '08) NCAA championships: 1 (2003) |
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CWS History
| Team Champions | |
| Year | Team |
| 2008 | Fresno State |
| 2007 | Oregon State |
| 2006 | Oregon State |
| 2005 | Texas |
| 2004 | Cal State Fullerton |
| 2003 | Rice |
| 2002 | Texas |
| 2001 | Miami (Fla.) |
| 2000 | LSU |
| 1999 | Miami (Fla.) |
| 1998 | USC |
| 1997 | LSU |
| 1996 | LSU |
| 1995 | CS Fullerton |
| 1994 | Oklahoma |
| 1993 | LSU |
| 1992 | Pepperdine |
| 1991 | LSU |
| 1990 | Georgia |
| 1989 | Wichita St. |
| 1988 | Stanford |
| 1987 | Stanford |
| 1986 | Arizona |
| 1985 | Miami (Fla.) |
| 1984 | CS Fullerton |
| 1983 | Texas |
| 1982 | Miami (Fla.) |
| 1981 | Arizona St. |
| 1980 | Arizona |
| 1979 | CS Fullerton |
| 1978 | USC |
| 1977 | Arizona St. |
| 1976 | Arizona |
| 1975 | Texas |