Which team will be the next Fresno State and crash this year's College World Series? Utah? Wichita State? Indiana?How about Fresno State impersonating itself?
The defending national champion Bulldogs survived four elimination games to win their fourth straight Western Athletic Conference Tournament title on Sunday and advance to the 2009 NCAA Baseball Tournament. The 64-team field was announced on Monday, and the Bulldogs' journey begins in sunny California.
Fresno State, which went from "Underdogs to Wonderdogs" and captured its first national title in a men's sport in last year's CWS, was seeded fourth in the UC Irvine regional by the NCAA Selection Committe. No. 1 Texas headlined the top eight national seeds, followed by Cal State Fullerton, LSU, North Carolina, Arizona State, UC Irvine, Oklahoma and Florida.
The tournament starts Friday.
Fresno State capped last year's wild ride with a 6-1 victory over Georgia in the decisive Game 3 of the CWS finals at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. The Bulldogs became the first No. 4 regional seed to reach the CWS since the tournament expanded in 1999, they survived six elimination games on their way to the title, and their 31 losses were the most by a baseball champion.
Can anyone say repeat?
Fresno State (32-28) will get its opportunity at history squared when it plays UC Irvine in the first round of the Irvine, Calif., regional. UC Irvine is ranked No. 1 in most national polls, and it marks the second straight year the Bulldogs must play the Big West champion in the opening round on its home field.
"We have been playing well," Fresno coach Mike Batesole said Monday. "I'm really proud of this team and I knew all along we would be a better team in May than we were in March and they are proving it. To do what we did to get to the NCAA tournament is a great accomplishment.
The UC Irvine regional also features Atlantic Coast Conference champion Virginia and San Diego State. The Aztecs are led by pitcher Steven Strasburg, the 100-mph right-hander who is expected to be the top overall selection in next month's major league amateur draft.
Fresno State certainly pulled off another remarkable comeback to win the WAC tournament in Honolulu and put itself in position to defend its national title.
The Bulldogs needed to win consecutive games against unbeaten New Mexico State to earn the tourney's automatic berth. They trailed 7-4 through seven innings in the first game before rallying for five runs. Then, in the decisive nightcap, Jordan Ribera snapped a 3-3 tie with a two-run homer in the eighth inning.
Ribera, who hit home runs against Rice and Georgia Tech in last year's CWS, was an unlikely hero. He replaced three-year starter Alan Ahmady at first base and in the cleanup spot. Ahmady was suspended from the team before the tournament for violating school rules. Ribera went 8-for-17 -- 4-for-8 in the final two games -- and was named the tourney's MVP.
"We've been in this position before, the underdog," Ribera said following the game.
"It just fuels the fire for us, gets us excited to come out here and show people that we are a good team and that we deserve the one seed or the two seed or whatever. We don't pay attention to all that stuff. We just come out here to play baseball because that's what we're here to do."
The 16 regional winners move on to the best-of-three super regionals, beginning June 5. The eight super regional winners advance to the College World Series, which begins June 13 in Omaha, Neb.
The Big 12 -- Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M -- and Southeastern Conference -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina and Vanderbilt -- each received eight berths.
Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said the Gators, who won the SEC Eastern Division but went 1-2 in the SEC Tournament, were surprised but appreciated their national seed.
"They [players] were awfully excited," O'Sullivan said. "I don't think they knew it was coming. We certainly did not know we would be a top eight national seed, but I think our challenging schedule and the way we improved throughout the year had a lot to do with it."
The Atlantic Coast Conference had seven teams selected, including Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia. Miami was the last No. 1 seed to win the CWS in 2001.
Among teams left out of the 64-team field were New Mexico State (44-17), Rhode Island (37-20-1) and San Jose State (41-20). Baylor and Oklahoma State received at-large bids despite finishing with losing records in the Big 12. Baylor lost 12 of its last 14 regular-season games, while Oklahoma State won just two of its nine conference series.
The Utah Utes, meanwhile, are making their first NCAA tourney appearance since 1960 and open at Cal State Fullerton. Utah (26-29) reached the tournament with a 9-3 victory in the Mountain West Conference championship game, rallying from the elimination bracket for its first MWC Tournament title.
Georgia State is another feel-good story, making its first appearance in the tourney. The Panthers will remain home in Atlanta and play Georgia Tech on Friday. The Panthers split with the Yellow Jackets this season and have won at Russ Chandler Stadium two times in the last three years. Georgia State beat Tech 10-1 in March when the Yellow Jackets were ranked third nationally, representing the highest-ranked opponent the Panthers have ever defeated.
"We had an opportunity to fully vet and understand the teams that we had available to us -- the positives, the negatives -- and the things associated with them," selection committee chairman Tim Weiser told The Associated Press.
"At the end of the day, we felt comfortable with the field that we have."
