Go, Bulldogs!
I know it's been a few days since I last weighed in...well, that little ol' thing called real life has been getting a lot of my attention.
One thing that apart from just that that also has is something that I'm taking quite a bit of pride in, even though I never thought it would happen, and in so thinking, I was wrong.
But I don't mind admitting I'm wrong when I am...especially when I'm glad I was!
I'm very proud of the Fresno State baseball team, which will be playing in this year's College World Series, starting this weekend in Omaha. Although they were a preseason top-25 pick and the favorite to win in the WAC once again, they struggled for a good part of the season, and didn't catch fire until the very end of the year, clinching the WAC title and surprisingly looking forward to the postseason.
We at KMJ weren't sharing in their confidence, and as far as we could tell, local enthusiasm for the team was at an alltime low, causing ratings for their broadcasts on our station to suffer, and we could hardly wait for their season to end so they could be put out of their misery.
When they blazed through the WAC tournament to earn a postseason bid, it didn't seem that big a deal. The WAC has been a weak baseball league for some time, and we all felt that the team would be rudely sent crashing to earth in the regionals...where they would face quality competition for a change.
Well, wouldn't you know, the Bulldogs would be placed in what probably was the toughest of all the regional fields, in Long Beach to face nationally-ranked and co-Big West champion Long Beach State, nationally-ranked Cal(from the Pacific-10), and the nation's sixth-ranked team, West Coast Conference champion University of San Diego, who the Bulldogs upset last year in regional play.
Fresno State, not nationally ranked for some time, was the bottom feeder in this group(the #4 seed)and we all figured they'd be blown away in two straight. Imagine our shock when the 'Dogs thrashed the host Long Beach State team in their opening game, and shut out the Toreros the following night to earn a berth in the championship game out of the chute. Was this the same team that had lost 28 games during the season?
After the Toreros forced a deciding game with a 15-1 spanking of the Bulldogs, we all figured that it was fun while it lasted, and the dream would end the following night in the regional title game, so we could ALL get back to our regular routines. But the Bulldogs were determined to keep their dreams alive, and knocked USD off in the championship game, and incredibly, they won the regional.
This earned them the right to play the nation's third-ranked team, the powerful Sun Devils of Arizona State. Surely the charade would end now...how would a lowly #4 seed knock off a team that was not only the Pac-10 champion, but was 39-3 at home this year? And that had a 14-game winning streak there in the postseason? When the Dogs were thrashed 12-4 in the series opener, we figured this was surely the end of the Bulldogs' season.
But again, the Bulldogs never let go of their dream. With perseverance and execution seldom seen during the year, they stunned the Sun Devils the following day to force a deciding game this past Monday...by this time I was beginning to see the light...maybe Fresno State could actually pull off the upset!
Monday night came, and the Bulldogs used a six-run seventh inning to help them to a seemingly insurmountable 12-5 lead...EVERYONE at KMJ was stunned! Excited, but stunned....could the Davidlike Bulldogs slay the Goliathlike Arizona State juggernaut?
The Sun Devils, true to form, came back strong in the 9th inning...but they couldn't come back far enough...the 'Dogs held on for a 12-9 victory...and for the first time ever, a #4 seed emerged from the regionals all the way to the College World Series!
The win was important on many levels. First, Fresno State(a baseball program with a lot of tradition from the days of coaches Pete Beiden and Bob Bennett)was finally a player again on the national baseball scene. And coach Mike Batesole(the victim of a lot of the most ignorant second-guessing all year by alleged Bulldog fans[including, sad to say, me])has been finally vindicated and now appreciated for keeping the team on a level course, and not overreacting in the face of adversity.
And notably, in light of a number of lawsuits against the school's athletic department by opportunistic but otherwise fine female coaches(and ex-coaches), the school has something positive to dwell on. This team is in position to win a national championship...only the softball champions of 1998 have previously done that for the Bulldogs. This kind of thing makes a whole community feel good about itself.
Finally, credit must be given to fine athletes such as senior Steve Susdorf, whose name is now all over the Bulldog record book...and other dedicated players like Alan Ahmaty, Eric Wetzel, Tom Mendonca, and senior closer Brandon Burke...for their continuing belief in themselves and their disregard for the negative carping of those of us who thought we knew better. Way to go, guys...you taught us all a good lesson.
If you do your best with what you've got, you'll go much farther than you could ever imagine...despite people who'll tell you you can't. Nobody but God knows what's going to happen...cast your lot with Him, and watch what might happen.
Do I think Fresno State will win the College World Series? No, but what does that matter? They've got as good a chance as the other seven schools, and we all know now they won't give up...so I'm not going to give up on them anymore, either.
Go Dogs!
Posted on Jun 13, 2008 - 01:36 AM | [0]
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