Fresno State explodes, force third game at CWS

Fresno State's pitching staff really needed a lift Tuesday night if they wanted to keep their national championship hopes alive, and they got one -- from their offense.

The Fresno bats have been pounding the ball better than anybody else in the CWS, and they quickly recovered from a 6-0 deficit to pound Georgia 19-10 and force a third and deciding game Wednesday in the College World Series championship at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Fresno State looked to be done for early on. Georgia jumped on an already-burned out pitching staff to take a big lead early, but the eastern Bulldogs' pitching served up plenty of beach balls to a Fresno State team that really needed it in this do-or-die situation.

The Georgia Bulldogs got three runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Joey Lewis. They extended that lead to 5-0 with single runs in the next two innings and appeared to be in cruise control when the Fresno State Bulldogs started their amazing comeback.

The rally started when Steve Detweiler scored on a wild pitch, opening the floodgates for a six-run outburst that put Fresno State on top. Steve Susdorf slapped a two-run single to right and Tommy Mendonca hit his fourth home run of the series, a three-run blast that tied the record for most home runs by a single player in the CWS.

Georgia tied the game at 6-6 in the fourth when Gordon Beckham singled home Matt Olson, but the momentum was clearly in Fresno State's corner after that. The WAC champions erupted for five in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Danny Muno's two-run triple and a two-run single by Ryan Overland; then tacked on four more in the fifth, capped by Susdorf's bomb to right field. Suddenly, a 5-0 deficit had turned into a 15-6 advantage.

Georgia managed to make a game of it in the seventh, scoring four times to get within five runs at 15-10. Fresno State countered with three in the bottom of the inning, keyed by Alan Ahmady's two-run single, then added another run in the eighth to account for the final margin of victory.

The scoring explosion by Fresno State was also record-setting, as they became the first team in CWS history to score 17 or more runs in two games in the same tournament. They opened the tournament with a 17-5 spanking of Rice, and they have hit 12 home runs in the tournament, which puts them within shouting distance of the all-time record of 17 turned in by both LSU and USC in 1998.

But all that matters now is tonight's Game Three. The winner goes home as College World Series champions, while the loser leaves with thoughts of what might have been. If the first two games are any indication, this should be one heck of a "dog" fight when the Georgia Bulldogs and Fresno State Bulldogs take the field just after 6 p.m. Wednesday at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Tournament Results

(NOTE: All times listed are Central)

Saturday, June 14 -- Stanford 16, Florida State 5; Georgia 7, Miami 4

Sunday, June 15 -- Fresno State 17, Rice 5; North Carolina 8, LSU 4

Monday, June 16 -- Miami 7, Florida State 5 (Florida State eliminated); Georgia 4, Stanford 3

Tuesday, June 17 -- LSU 6, Rice 5 (Rice eliminated); Fresno State 5, North Carolina 3

Wednesday, June 18 -- Stanford 8, Miami 3 (Miami eliminated)

Friday, June 20 -- North Carolina 7, LSU 3 (LSU eliminated)

Saturday, June 21 -- Georgia 10, Stanford 8 (Stanford eliminated); North Carolina 4, Fresno State 3

Sunday, June 22 -- Fresno State 6, North Carolina 1 (North Carolina eliminated)

Championship Series

Monday, June 23 -- Georgia 7, Fresno State 6

Tuesday, June 24 -- Fresno State 19, Georgia 10

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3: Georgia (45-24-1) vs. Fresno State (46-31), 6 p.m.

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