COLLEGE BASEBALL

• Cinderella in cleats: Fresno State wins College World Series

  
  

  Omaha, NE (Sports Network) - Steve Detwiler went 4-for-4, including a pair of homers, and drove in all the runs for Fresno State, which won its first College World Series championship with a 6-1 victory over Georgia.

  Georgia used an eighth-inning rally to take Monday's opening game, 7-6, though Fresno State powered to a 19-10 win on Tuesday. Detwiler was the driving force Wednesday in helping Fresno State take the best-of-three series, setting records for most home runs, most extra-base hits, most RBI and most total bases in a championship game.

  He provided enough offense for Fresno State starter Justin Wilson, who threw eight brilliant innings, giving up only one run on five hits, while striking out nine. Tommy Mendonca, who hit four homers and drove in 11 over the course of the tournament, and had stellar defense at third base, was named Most Outstanding Player.

  "I knew it was over when I saw the look in his eye in the first inning," Fresno State head coach Mike Batesole said. "I knew he was going to do everything he could to get it done tonight." The school became the lowest seeded team to win an NCAA championship in any sport. It was a fourth seed at the Long Beach Regional, and began its unlikely run there, knocking off 11th-seeded Long Beach State and sixth-ranked San Diego.

  In the Super Regional, Fresno State won two of three against third- ranked Arizona State to reach the College World Series.

  Fresno State went on to beat fifth-ranked Rice, eliminate second-ranked North Carolina and staved off elimination three times in the same tournament, ending with a 47-31 record.

  "I knew this was a good baseball team when we beat Long Beach at Long Beach. We could have ended the season there.

  That was good enough right there," Batesole said.

  "As a coaching staff we got out of the way, and the eight seniors took charge. They decided to do things right both on and off the field." Gordon Beckham went 2-for-4 with a solo homer to provide Georgia's only run, and tied LSU's Matt Clark for the national lead in homers with 28. Starter Nathan Moreau was solid in five innings, holding the Fresno State offense to three runs -- two earned -- on three hits, but took the loss.

  "First, I have to tip my hat to Fresno State," Georgia head coach David Perno said.

  "They are a true champion. They did it the hard way with five games in five days...To our guys, just a group of guys who went 23-33 (last year) and set their sights that they were going to be here, and not only did we get here, but we did a fair share of winning here." Georgia, which finished with a 45-25-1 record, lost its first game of the Athens Regional to Lipscomb, but won four straight from there to advance to the Super Regionals. After winning two of three against N.C. State, Georgia advanced to the College World Series, where it was undefeated in three games until meeting Fresno State. Georgia last won the CWS in 1990.

  "We just came up one short.

  It was unfortunate tonight.

  We had some opportunities and we hit some balls hard at those times but nothing fell for us. We just couldn't keep them in the yard," Perno said.

  In the top of the second, Steve Susdorf got on board with an infield single. After an Alan Ahmady fly out, Detwiler smacked a ball to right field that just got over the fence in right field for a 2-0 Fresno State lead.

  Georgia got a rally going in the home second as Danny Muno made a pair of errors. The shortstop dropped the ball while lunging forward, allowing leadoff hitter Bryce Massanari to reach base. Later, Muno made too high a throw for a force out at second, leaving the bases loaded with two outs. But Gavin Hedstrom made a nice catch on a long drive from Ryan Peisel to end the threat.

  "We pushed too hard as a group. We were all trying to for the six-run home run," Peisel said.

  Detwiler sent a deep drive to center in the fourth to plate another run, and put Fresno State on top 3-0, but his biggest -- at least longest -- hit of the night came in the sixth.

  With two outs, Susdorf doubled and Ahmady walked against Dean Weaver, who relieved Moreau at the beginning of the frame. Detwiler then crushed a high fastball to left, into the last several rows of the stands, boosting Fresno State's lead to 6-0.

  Beckham led off the bottom of the eighth with a homer, but Wilson got out of the inning without further damage. Clayton Allison got into trouble in the bottom of the ninth -- two on and none out -- but closer Brandon Burke got David Thoms to ground into a double play.

  Matt Olson then hit a fly to right field, which Detwiler caught to end the game.

  06/26 01:37:13 ET