Fresno State Bulldogs - College World Series Champions

Just in case we need another example from the world of sports on how teamwork and attitude outperform talent and reputation:

CHALLENGE:

· The Fresno State Bulldogs were the lowest seed ever to reach a CWS, much less win one

· The No. 4 slotting they received in the 64-team field was equivalent to a 13-16 seed in March Madness parlance, which means they were bigger long-shots than Villanova winning a basketball national title in 1988 or George Mason reaching a Final Four in 2006.

· With a final record of 47-31, Fresno finished with the most losses of any national champ in history

· The Bulldogs began the season 8-11

· They finished the regular season unranked and 89th in the RPI (National ranking system)

ADVERSITY:

· They had zero first-round picks on their roster (Miami, the No. 1 national seed, brought three first-round draft picks to Omaha and left after three games. Fresno State's highest draft pick was second-rounder Tanner Scheppers, and he missed the postseason with a shoulder injury.)

· In a news conference a day before this marathon, 12-day CWS began, salty Fresno coach Mike Batesole offered up one of the greatest undersells of all time in his opening statement. Of his Bulldogs, he said, "On the mound, you're not going to see a bunch of guys throwing 90 mph. You're not going to see a bunch of web gems on the field defensively. And offensively -- we just came back from Tempe, and if you've ever seen the Arizona State team take batting practice, they probably would lose 50 balls a day. And we're still working on our original bucket."

· One thing that could not be hidden in the lead-up to the CWS was Fresno State's resiliency. Facing elimination against No. 6-ranked San Diego in the NCAA regional, it scraped out a 5-1 win to move on to Tempe. There, after falling 12-4 to Arizona State in the opener, the Bulldogs beat the third-ranked Sun Devils in two straight elimination games to earn a trip to Omaha. When all was said and done Fresno State was 6-0 with its backs against the wall, all of it accomplished in an exhausting road swing after playing its final home game on May 11

· Coach Batesole, slightly embellishing, likes to say that his club hit the road for 40 straight days. Following the title game, he said, "We haven't left anywhere the last five weekends where we weren't empty or done."

· Fresno State had played three pitchers with 6.75-plus ERAs on Monday to send the game to the decisive Championship game

VICTORY:

· Steve Detwiler went 4-for-4, with two homers, and drove in all six of Fresno's runs in the 6-1 clincher over Georgia while playing with a fully torn tendon in his left thumb that he suffered on April 1

· Justin Wilson, whose eight-inning, one-run, nine-strikeout tour de force was the game of his life threw 129 pitches on three days' rest

This example perfectly complements the example that Matt laid out in his email “Thursdays Connect” on how the strength of our team will outlast and outperform the individuals that have left to do their own thing. Although we may never be the flashiest (although this will change with the TV opportunity) or prettiest (state of the art equipment) our commitment to the systems and the team around us will guarantee that our chances of standing alone at the end will be that much greater.

Paul