IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1327 

Congratulating the 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 

Division I Baseball Champions, the Fresno State Bulldogs, on an outstanding and historic season. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2008 

Mr. NUNES (for himself, Mr. COSTA, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. 

WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. DREIER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. ISSA, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. MCCARTHY of California, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. 

MCNERNEY, Mr. TERRY, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 

Mr. HONDA, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, 

Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mrs. BONO MACK, Mr. CAMPBELL of California, and Mr. HERGER) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Baseball Champions, the 

Fresno State Bulldogs, on an outstanding and historic 

season. 

Whereas California State University, Fresno, better known as 

Fresno State, was founded in 1911 and has offered advanced degrees since 1949; 

Whereas Fresno State has one of the top Agriculture 

Sciences and Technology programs in the California 

State University system, with a worldwide reputation in 


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•HRES 1327 IH 

water technology, more than 200 awards for student-produced wines, and research having global impact in the 

areas of food production, land preservation, and irrigation; 

Whereas Fresno State’s Craig School of Business has been 

recognized in the Princeton Review’s top business schools 

and is nationally acclaimed for its Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship; 

Whereas Fresno State also offers well-regarded programs in 

schools or colleges devoted to arts and humanities, health 

and human services, education and human development, 

social sciences, physical sciences, and mathematics and 

engineering; 

Whereas Fresno State is home to approximately 19,000 undergraduate students, 2,200 graduate students, and nearly 1,000 post-baccalaureate students; 

Whereas in the recent Western Association of Schools and 

Colleges accreditation process, Fresno State was commended as a ‘‘national model for institutions interested 

in becoming generators of social mobility, economic development, and student success’’; 

Whereas Fresno State prepares its students to prosper in 

their chosen careers by being responsible citizens in their 

communities, as well as in the State, Nation, and world; 

Whereas all Fresno State athletic programs pride themselves 

on recruiting male and female athletes from local high 

schools and junior colleges; 

Whereas every member of this year’s championship baseball 

team is from California, with many players hailing from 

such San Joaquin Valley towns as Fresno, Clovis, Bakersfield, Visalia, Hanford, and Turlock; 


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Whereas the Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team beat the 

University of Georgia Bulldogs two games to one to win 

the 2008 College World Series; 

Whereas the Fresno State Bulldogs opened the College World 

Series with a victory over fifth-seeded Rice University 

and had two wins over number-two national seed University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; 

Whereas the Bulldogs scored 14 home runs, breaking the 

College World Series home run record, and set the record 

for the most extra-base hits, runs batted in, and total 

bases in a championship game; 

Whereas the Bulldogs became the only team in College World 

Series history to score more than 16 runs in 2 separate 

games; 

Whereas the Bulldogs were the first number-four seed to 

reach the finals of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in any sport; 

Whereas the Bulldogs earned 8 wins over teams ranking in 

the top 20; 

Whereas the Bulldogs played on the road for over 40 days; 

Whereas, throughout the College World Series, the Bulldogs 

won 6 elimination games, including a 19–10 victory over 

the University of Georgia Bulldogs in the championship 

series; 

Whereas, for the third consecutive season, the Bulldogs 

earned a pre-season ranking in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s Fabulous 40 and an 18th-place ranking from 

Baseball America Magazine; 

Whereas the Bulldogs won 47 games and lost 31 games during the 2008 season; 


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Whereas 7 members of the Bulldog team were named to the 

Preseason All-Western Athletic Conference Team; 

Whereas on May 17, 2008, the Bulldogs won their third 

straight Western Athletic Conference championship; 

Whereas on May 25, 2008, the Bulldogs won their third 

straight Western Athletic Conference tournament after 

beating the University of Nevada; 

Whereas the Bulldogs had not played in a College World Series since 1991; 

Whereas the Bulldogs won the Long Beach Regional and 

Tempe Super Regional tournaments, and beat 3rd-ranked 

Arizona State University, 6th-ranked San Diego University, and 11th-ranked Long Beach State University; 

Whereas head coach Mike Batesole was named the 2008 National Coach of the Year, the second time in 10 years he 

has won the award; 

Whereas Steve Susdorf was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Tanner Scheppers was named 

the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, 

Danny Muno was named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, and head coach Mike 

Batesole was named the Western Athletic Conference CoCoach of the Year; 

Whereas Steve Susdorf, Tanner Scheppers, Erik Wetzel, Alan 

Ahmady, and Brandon Burke earned First-Team AllWestern Athletic Conference honors; 

Whereas seniors Clayton Allison, Blake Amador, Jason 

Breckley, Brandon Burke, Jacob Hower, Ryan Overland, 

and Steve Susdorf and junior Kris Tomlinson have graduated or will graduate within 9 semesters, having managed their time well enough to keep up with studies and 


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play championship baseball over 78 games and hundreds 

of practice sessions; 

Whereas Steve Susdorf was a Western Athletic Conference 

All-Academic awardee for the fourth year and also won 

ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and second 

team Academic All-America honors; 

Whereas senior Clayton Allison, juniors Kris Tomlinson and 

Erik Wetzel, and freshmen Trent Soares and Jake 

Floethe were also Western Athletic Conference All-Academic performers; 

Whereas Tommy Mendonca was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player and was named to the 

2008 National Collegiate Team; 

Whereas Erik Wetzel, Steve Susdorf, Steve Detwiler, and 

Justin Wilson were named to the 2008 College World Series All-Tournament Team; 

Whereas, in addition to the players who earned all-conference 

honors, the Bulldogs saw outstanding play from Danny 

Muno, Jordan Ribera, Gavin Hedstrom, and Ryan Overland; 

Whereas Bulldog coaches Mike Batesole, Matt Curtis, Mike 

Mayne, and Pat Waer and the entire Bulldog roster and 

staff have earned a special place in Fresno State sports 

history; 

Whereas many members of the Bulldog team will never play 

professional baseball and truly give meaning to the term 

‘‘student-athlete’’; and 

Whereas Fresno State’s competition for the national championship has been exciting to watch for all those who 

have an attachment to the University, the San Joaquin 


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Valley, and the game we call our national pastime: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) congratulates the 2008 National Collegiate Ath3 letic Association (NCAA) Baseball Champions, the Fresno 

4 State Bulldogs, on an outstanding and historic season; 

5 and 

6 (2) recognizes that the Bulldogs, in winning their 

7 first College World Series, concluded an unprecedented 

8 season and championship that captivated baseball fans 

9 across America. 

Æ 


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