Tommy Mendonca leads the Bulldogs with 14 homeruns.

May 29, 2008

LONG BEACH, Calif. - There's nothing like the feel and excitement of the postseason. For the Fresno State Bulldogs that means a third consecutive trip to the NCAA championship tournament as the Dogs are one of 64 teams looking to take the "Road to Omaha" and the 2008 College World Series.

The Fresno State baseball team arrived in Long Beach Wednesday night in preparation for their first round NCAA championship tournament game at Blair Field. The Bulldogs are the No. 4 seed in the Long Beach Regional and will play Long Beach State at 6 p.m. Friday night. The game will be broadcast on the radio in the Valley on KMJ Radio 580 AM.

"This is a big weekend," said head coach Mike Batesole. "These teams have been ranked in the top 10 this year, pretty consistently in the Top 10, so it could be really tough."

During his media conference, Batesole praised his team for making to a third NCAA tournament.

"This is the team I'm most proud of. It was the toughest road to get here. Winning the WAC tournament was a battle down to the end. We had a few guys hurt and they just kept finding a way to get it done."

Fresno State will send junior Justin Wilson (6-4, 4.29 ERA) to the mound to face Long Beach State ace Andrew Liebel (8-3, 1.81 ERA). Wilson was named to the All-WAC tournament team last weekend. The Bulldogs will be without WAC Pitcher of the Year Tanner Scheppers, who is injured and out for the rest of the season.

"I like it here," said Wilson. "It's a big park and you have to throw strikes and put pressure on the hitters. Our young guys have stepped up huge this season. Since the first day, they have been ready to play."

Under Mike Batesole, the Bulldogs are 4-4 in the NCAA tournament. Last season, the Bulldogs opened the tournament by upsetting No. 4 San Diego 6-2 in the opening game at the San Diego Regional.

2008 Long Beach Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
California vs. San Diego, 2 p.m.
Fresno State vs. Long Beach State, 6 p.m. .

Saturday, May 31
Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 2 p.m. .
Winning Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m. .

Sunday, June 1
Game 5, 1 p.m. .
Game 6, 5 p.m. .

Monday, June 2
Game 7 (if necessary), 6 p.m.

Bulldogs Win Third Straight WAC Title
Fresno State has dominated the Western Athletic Conference for the past three seasons, winning both the regular season and WAC tournament each year. The Bulldogs have a 12-0 record in WAC tournament action during that time. Fresno State has won 70% (56-24) of their WAC regular season games over the last three seasons.The Bulldogs outscored their WAC opponents 23-14 in four games of last weekend's tournament held in Ruston, La.

NCAA Bound
Fresno State will enter the NCAA Tournament for the 31st time in school history, third straight season and fifth time this decade. Under Mike Batesole, the Bulldogs are 4-4 in NCAA tournament action and have won two straight opening round games. This marks the first time the Bulldogs have played an NCAA tournament in Long Beach.

Long Beach Regional Looks Familiar
For the three-time defending Western Athletic Conference Championships, heading to the NCAA tournament will be very familiar. Not only are the Dogs making their third straight NCAA tournament appearance when they take the field this weekend, Fresno State has played all three teams that advanced to the Long Beach Regional. All four of the teams in the Long Beach Regional have been ranked in the Top 25 this season. The winner of the Long Beach Regional will play the Tempe Regional winner in a Super Regional best of three series June 6-8 or June 7-9.

Three's a Charm
The Bulldogs have won three straight conference champions for the first time since 1984. From 1979-84 the Fresno State baseball team won five straight conference championships. Since 1999 Rice and Fresno State have been the only WAC regular season champions.

Susdorf Sweeps WAC Honors
Senior outfielder Steve Susdorf swept the majority of the biggest WAC awards this season. He as tabbed was the preseason WAC Player of the Year back in January, followed that with the 2008 WAC Player of the Year Award in voting by the league's coaches and was selected the MVP of the WAC Tournament last weekend in Ruston, La.. During the season he set the all-time RBI record at Fresno State, the first player in Bulldog history with more than 200. On May 8 he was named to the ESPN the Magazine First Team Academic All-District 8 First Team. It is the second time in his career that he has been honored, and on May 26 he was selected second-team Academic All-America by CoSIDA.

Bulldogs in the NCAAs
Fresno State is 54-62 all-time in NCAA tournament action. In two seasons under Mike Batesole the Bulldogs are 4-4 in the NCAA tournament. Fresno State upset No. 4 San Diego in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Regional played in San Diego. Batesole is 2-0 all-time in NCAA first round games. Fresno State is 18-12 all-time in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This marks the sixth consecutive time Fresno State has played the first round of the NCAA tournament in California. Fresno State has hosted NCAA action 12 times through the years, last serving a host in 1995.

NCAA Long Beach Regional Opponents
Long Beach (37-19) is hosting an NCAA regional for the fourth time and the second straight season. The Dirt Bags, ranked No. 18 in the nation, won their first Big West Conference title since 2003 with a 2-1 series win over No. 8 Cal State-Fullerton. The Dogs and Dirt Bags split their two mid-week games this season. The Bulldogs won 7-6 in Fresno and Long Beach State won 2-1 at Blair Field. Fresno State leads the all-time series 57-50. This will be the first meeting between the two schools in the NCAA tournament.

California (33-19-2), ranked No. 15 in the latest polls, finished the Pac-10 with a 12-12 record. The Bears are making their ninth NCAA tournament appearance and first since 2001. Cal has won two NCAA baseball national championships, 1947 and 1957, and reached the 1992 College World Series. The Bears won both games against the Bulldogs this season, winning 14-4 at the San Diego State tournament and 5-4 at Berkeley on April 4. Cal leads the all-time series 61-59. The Bulldogs beat the Bear 7-6 in 10 innings in the first game of the 1985 NCAA tournament played at Beiden Field, the only time the two teams ever met in the postseason.

San Diego (41-15), ranked No. 7 in the nation, is coming off a series sweep of No. 13 Pepperdine to win its second straight West Coast Conference title. Kevin Muno, older brother of Bulldog shortstop Danny Muno, was named the MVP of the WCC. The Bulldogs and Toreros met earlier this season, with San Diego taking a 2-1 win at the San Diego State tournament. Fresno State leads the series 15-5, including 3-0 in NCAA tournament play. This is the third straight year Fresno State and San Diego have been in the same regional.

All-session tickets are $80 for box seats and $60 for general admission for the three-day, six-game, possible four-day (and seven game) regional. Single game tickets will go on sale Friday.

"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The Fresno State baseball team heads to the NCAA tournament for the 31st time. Follow the Bulldogs in the NCAA tournament on KMJ Radio.