Fresno State Athletics
The Second Day of Christmas
12/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 15, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - On the second day of Christmas Timeout brought the Red Wave two National Championships. Fresno State has won two national championships in department history. Softball won the first national title in 1998 and baseball followed with a national title of their own in 2008.
The 1998 Fresno State softball team accomplished what no other Bulldog athletic team had done before, bringing home a NCAA championship title to the university and making the city and surrounding communities swell with pride. The ultimate dream was achieved in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium.
Taking it step-by-step, these Bulldogs captured a Western Athletic Conference title (13th league championship, overall), won their 11 NCAA Regional crown, and made history at the 1998 NCAA Women's College World Series by becoming only the fifth program to win an NCAA title.
Making its 17th straight NCAA Regional appearance and 21st postseason showing overall, Fresno State appeared in its 11th NCAA Women's College World Series out of 17 postseason championships since 1982. As the No. 7 seed, the Bulldogs captured their first softball national title in their fifth appearance in the NCAA championship game after posting a 1-0 shutout win over No. 1 seed and top-ranked Arizona.
With a 7-1 postseason record in 1998, the Bulldogs notched a final record of 52-11 while recording the fewest losses in the program's history for the fourth time. Fresno State posted a 4-1 record in WCWS action and became the first non-Pac-10 team to win the national title since Texas A&M in 1987 after beating the top four seeds in the series (No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Michigan, and No. 4 Washington).
The Bulldogs broke Arizona's 29-game win streak as senior second baseman Nina Lindenberg's sixth inning home run snapped a string of 52-consecutive scoreless innings by Arizona pitchers. With the run, Fresno State tied its own single-season record in runs (374) that it set a year ago in 69 games. The Bulldogs also broke their own season record in batting average (.340) and fewest fielding errors (58).
Four Bulldogs were named to the 1998 NCAA All-College World Series team in senior centerfielder Laura Berg, who finished her career ranked No. 1 all-time in career hits at Fresno State and No. 2 all-time in NCAA history, sophomore first baseman Angela Cervantez, Amanda Scott, and Lindenberg. Scott was named the Most Outstanding Player. It marked the third time in school history that four Bulldogs were selected to an all-series team.
In addition, four Bulldogs were named All-Americans in first team selections Berg, Lindenberg, and Scott and freshman outfielder Becky Witt (second team), who also captured WAC Freshman of the Year honors.
The Fresno State baseball team made history in 2008 after winning the first national title in program history. The Bulldogs became the first No. 4 seed to ever advance to the College World Series. The long journey to reach Omaha was a success, but the Bulldogs had to carve out a new path to reach the finals and make Bulldog history.
The Bulldogs faced and beat Rice University, a team used to the CWS spotlight and who won a National Championship in this decade.
The Bulldogs then met No. 2 North Carolina. The `Dogs earned a, 5-3, win in game one against the Tar Heels and then lost game two, 4-3. The Bulldogs faced another elimination game as they took on North Carolina for a third time and defeated the Tar Heels, 6-1.
Fresno State headed to the CWS Final Series against Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs took care of business narrowly beating Fresno State 7-6 in the first game, placing the `Dogs in a familiar spot, another elimination game. Fresno State had already battled through and won four elimination games.
The Fresno State bats came alive again at the CWS, scoring 19 runs in the second game. The Bulldogs of Georgia could not keep up with the Wonderdogs.
Game three would prove to be a historic ending for the Wonderdogs in Omaha. The Bulldogs looked to pitcher Justin Wilson to set the pace. Wilson had nine strikeouts and held Georgia scoreless for seven innings, after facing 32 batters, allowing only five hits and one run. Offensively, Steve Detwiler stole the show hitting 4-for-4 recording two home runs, a double, and six RBI's.
The Bulldogs had done it, for the first time in the program history, and Fresno State had won a national championship. Justin Wilson, Erik Wetzel, Stephen Susdorf, Steve Detwiler and Tom Mendonca were named to the All-CWS team and Mendonca was named Most Outstanding Player.
And the No. 1 tennis doubles team in the nation. Log on to gobulldogs.com to find out what Timeout brought on the third day of Christmas.
