[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13942-13943]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 FRESNO STATE WINS COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Costa) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Fresno State 
baseball team, the Bulldogs, on their victory over the University of 
Georgia last night to claim the 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball National 
Championship. I am a very proud alum today.
   The ``Dogs'' came into the tournament as a 4th seeded team . . . and 
along the way, beat Rice University and had two big wins over the 
University of North Carolina. They are the first number four seed to 
reach the finals of an NCAA championship in any sport. This is truly 
historic in collegiate athletics. They went from the underdogs, to the 
wonder ``Dogs''.
  And they accomplish this on the road, away from home for forty 
straight days, and won five elimination games, including a 19-10 win 
over Georgia during the championship series.
  This team was a pure joy to watch on the field . . . we saw 
outstanding defensive plays, 15 home runs by the offense, and they had

[[Page 13943]]

America riveted to their televisions and radios to hear them win last 
night's game. It has been an exciting month for anyone with an 
attachment to the University our San Joaquin Valley, are those who 
happen to love our Nations pastime, baseball.
  The character, camaraderie, preparation, and ultimately the 
performance and success of the team flows from Head Coach Mike ``Bait-
Soul'' Batsole and his wonderful staff. He was chosen this year 2008 
Collegiate Coach of the Year.
  One very unique thing about this team is that every player is from 
California. In fact, many of the players come from surrounding 
communities like Clovis, Hanford, Visalia, Bakersfield, and Turlock. 
Fresno State athletics prides themselves in recruiting local talent 
from Valley high schools and junior colleges.
  And those young men are the models for student-athletes around the 
Nation. Seven seniors and one junior will graduate within 9 semesters, 
and Steve Susdorf was given Western Athletic Conference All-Academic 
awards four times in his career with the Bulldogs. These classroom 
accomplishments should be commended. Student athletics at their finest.
  There were five Bulldogs who made this year's College World Series 
All-Tournament Team, and they are Erik Wetzel, Steve Susdorf, Steve 
Detwiler, Justin Wilson, and Tommy Mendonca. Congratulations.
  Tommy Mendonca, from Turlock, CA, also was named the College World 
Series Most Outstanding Player and was recently named to the 2008 
National Collegiate Team. He comes from strong Portuguese Valley roots, 
and I enjoyed watching him play this season.
  Finally, we again want to congratulate the Fresno State baseball team 
on a season well played, and tip my hat to the University of Georgia 
and all the teams that participated for an outstanding series and 
season.

                          ____________________