Fresno State Athletics
Postgame Notes
6/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 25, 2008
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| College World Series Championship
- This is the third time that the MCWS Championship Finals has gone to a third game since the format was instituted in 2003 (2003, '06, '08).
- The series attendance of 330,099 is the highest total attendance in MCWS history. The previous mark was 310,609 set in 2006. It is also third straight year the MCWS has drawn over 300,000 fans.
- The 206 combined runs in the series marks the fourth time in MCWS history that the eight teams in Omaha combined to score at least 200 runs and the first time since 2001. It is the most runs in a single MCWS since 1998, when 225 runs were scored, and that total is second only to 1984's total of 228 runs.
- The 341 combined hits in the 2008 MCWS is the most ever, breaking the previous mark of 327 set in 1998, while the combined average of .303 is the highest in the MCWS since the teams hit .314 in 2001. Only four other MCWS (1947, 1995, 1998 and 2001) have seen the field hit over .300
- It is the first time this CWS that both teams have two or more errors in a game and the first time it's happened at the MCWS since 6/23/07, when both Oregon State and North Carolina had two each.
- Fresno State's 62 runs scored tied the all-time MCWS record for most runs by a team in a series, matching USC's total set in 1998. The Bulldogs were the first team in MCWS history to score at least 17 runs more than once in the same MCWS
- The 33 total errors in the MCWS tied for the fourth-lowest total in the eight-team MCWS field
- The teams averaged 12.9 runs per game in the MCWS, the highest total since averaging a series record 16.1 runs per game in 1998.
- The eight triples in the series tied for the highest total since the 1991 MCWS
- The last seven MCWS Champions have come from west of the Mississippi River
- Fresno State has won its first MCWS title and second NCAA title in school history. Fresno State only other national title came in softball in 1998.
- Fresno State is the fifth straight national champion that was not a national seed. Prior to 2004, the previous five champions dating back to 1999 were all national seeds
- Fresno State is the first No. 4 regional seed to win a national title, and the lowest seed to ever win MCWS. Oregon State, a No. 3 regional seed in 2007, was the lowest regional seed to win a MCWS title
- Head Coach Mike Batesole is the first coach to win a MCWS title in his first appearance at the MCWS since Pepperdine's Andy Lopez did it in 1992. He is just the 11th head coach to win a MCWS in his first appearance and only the fourth since 1962 (also Jerry Kindall of Arizona in 1976, and Don Lund of Michigan in 1962). Other years where a first-time MCWS coach won are in 1947, '48, '49, '51, '52, '53 and '57.
- The national title is the sixth by the Western Athletic Conference team and the first since Rice won the national title in 2003. The other WAC titles were by Arizona State (1965, 1967, 1969 and 1977) and Arizona (1976)
- Fresno State improves to 8-8 all-time in its four MCWS appearances, including a 5-2 mark in Omaha this season. Fresno State's previous best finish was a third-place showing in 1959.
- Fresno State is just the second national champion to lose twice in a single MCWS, joining Oregon State in 2006.
- Fresno State improved to 6-0 in elimination games in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, including 3-0 at the MCWS.
- All 10 of Fresno State's postseason wins have come against teams ranked in the top 15, including its final seven wins over National Seeds, defeating the No. 2 (North Carolina, twice), No. 3 (Arizona State, twice), No. 6 (Rice) and No. 8 (Georgia, twice) national seeds. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, Fresno State was 2-2 against ranked teams this year.
- Fresno State's .309 team batting average in Omaha was the highest by a MCWS champion since Miami hit .314 in 2000 and only the fourth time since 1980 that the MCWS champion finished with above a .300 average in Omaha.
- Fresno State is the first team to with a national title with 30 losses. The most losses by a previous national champion had been 23 by Stanford in 1998
- Fresno State led the MCWS with a 4.13 ERA after entering the MCWS ranked seventh of eight teams in Team ERA. It is the highest ERA by a champion since Texas posted a 4.25 ERA in 2002.
- Fresno State has hit 14 homers, a total that ranks third on the all-time single MCWS chart (tied with USC in 1995). It is the highest MCWS homer total since USC and LSU both belted 18 homers in 1998. Seven different Fresno State players have homered in the MCWS, while no other team hit seven homers in Omaha.
- Steve Detwiler is the fourth player to hit two homers in a MCWS Championship game and the first since Robb Gorr of USC in 1998. The other players to accomplish the feat were Mark Kotsay, Cal State Fullerton, 1995 and Bill Horning, Minnesota, 1956. It was Detwiler's first career two-homer game.
- Detwiler's six RBIs not only was a career high (previous high was four) and the second-highest total in an MCWS Championship Game, trailing only the seven RBIs by Wes Rachels of USC in 1998.
- Detwiler, who was hitting just .103 in the NCAA Tournament prior to the MCWS Championship Finals, went 8-for-13 with three homers and nine RBIs, setting MCWS Championship Finals records for hits, RBIs, homers and extra-base hits (five) in a MCWS Championship Finals. His four hits tonight also tied the MCWS Championship Finals single-game record.
- Justin Wilson went 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA in three starts in Omaha, leading all pitchers in both strikeouts (20) and innings pitched (20.1). He is one of only two pitchers to win more than one game at the MCWS, and the eight innings he pitched against Georgia on Wednesday was the longest outing by a pitcher in the MCWS.
- MWCS Most Outstanding Player Tommy Mendonca finished the MCWS with a .276 average with four homers and 11 RBIs. His four homers tied a single-series MCWS record, while his 11 RBIs ranks fifth in MCWS history and is the most since Kris Bennett drove in 11 runs in 2001.
- Detwiler finished the MCWS with a .333 average (10-for-30) with three homers and 11 RBIs, tying Mendonca for the series lead in RBIs
- Mendonca extended his own NCAA record with two strikeouts, raising his total to 99. The previous NCAA record for most strikeouts by a hitter in a season is 85 by Brendan Winn of South Carolina in 2004 (70 games)
- Steve Susdorf scored three runs on Wednesday against Georgia, breaking Fresno State's career record for runs scored. Susdorf, whose 10 runs scored ranks third all-time in a MCWS, broke the school mark of 207 by Tom Goodwin from 1987 to 1989. Susdorf also had his national-best 33rd double on Wednesday also finished with a school record in that category.
- Erik Wetzel scored nine times at the 2008 MCWS to up his nation-leading total to 99, tied Goodwin for second place on Fresno State's career list with 207.
- Georgia's Gordon Beckham now has 113 hits on the season, breaking Georgia's single-season record for hits in a year. The previous mark was 111 by Joey Side in 2006. Beckham also extended his hit streak to 15 games and hit .522 (12-for-23) with two homers and five RBIs in the MCWS
- Beckham finished the year with a .411 average, becoming the 11th Georgia player to hit .400 or better in a season and the first since 1981, when Buck Belue (.447) and Rick Fuentes (.411) both hit over .400.
- Beckham's homer was his 28th of the season, tying him with LSU's Matt Clark for the national lead in homers. Beckham now holds UGA single-season record in homer, RBIs and runs scored (97), ranking second nationally in runs scored
- Beckham is the first Bulldog player to lead Georgia in all three triple crown categories since Jeff Keppinger in 2001 (.389-18-73)
- The loss by starting pitcher Nathan Moreau was the first decision by Georgia starting pitcher in the MCWS.
- Georgia fell to 24-13 against ranked teams this season, including a 13-6 mark against top-10 teams
- Georgia sees its all-time record drop to 10-11 in its six MCWS appearances, including 6-6 under Coach Dave Perno.
- Georgia is the third SEC team to finish as a MCWS runner-up since 2002, joining South Carolina (2002) and Florida (2005). Georgia is the 32nd different team to finish second at the MCWS.
- Georgia fell to 5-1 in elimination games in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and had not played an elimination game in Omaha until tonight's loss
- Georgia falls to 1-10 when being held to two runs or less this season.
- Tonight was Georgia's 71st game of the year, matching a school mark for games played.
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