[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10] [House] [Page 13942] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]RECOGNIZING FRESNO STATE'S WINNING THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Nunes) is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my good friend from California (Mr. Costa) to recognize something very important that happened in the San Joaquin Valley, for all the people of the San Joaquin Valley, and that is that yesterday the Fresno State Bulldogs won the college series. This is very special for all of us. At this time, I yield to my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from California, an alumnus of Fresno State, Mr. Costa. Mr. COSTA. I thank the gentleman from California, a colleague, a good friend and an avid supporter of the California State University of Fresno, as we all are in the Valley delegation. Mr. Speaker, we are proud to recognize the Fresno State baseball team, the Bulldogs, the Bulldogs on the West Coast, on their victory of the University of Georgia last night, the other Bulldogs, to claim the 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Division Championship I-A Baseball National Champions. Obviously, as my good friend Congressman Nunes indicated, I am a proud alumnus today. The Dogs came into the tournament as the fourth seeded team and along the way beat Rice University, had two big wins over the University of North Carolina, and they are the first number four seed to reach the finals of the NCAA championship in any sport. It is truly historic in collegiate athletics. They went from the underdogs to the wonder dogs, and they accomplished this after spending over 40 straight days away from home. Leaving Fresno on May 14, they finally came home today. They 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 American riveted to their televisions and radios to hear them win last night's game. It was an exciting month for anyone who is attached to the University or our San Joaquin Valley, or those who just happens to love our Nation's pastime, baseball. The character, camaraderie, preparation, and ultimately the performance and success of the team flows from their head coach Mike Batesole and his wonderful staff. This year he was chosen 2008 Collegiate Coach of the Year in baseball. One unique thing about this team is that every player is from California. In fact, many of the players come from surrounding communities; in my colleagues' districts, Nunes, Radanovich, and Cardoza, and the like, they came from Clovis, Hanford, Bakersfield, and Turlock. Fresno State athletics takes pride in recruiting local talent from high schools and junior colleges. These young men are models for student athletes around the Nation. Seven seniors and one junior will graduate within nine semesters. Steve Susdorf was given the Western Athletic Conference All-Academic awards four times in his career with the Bulldogs. These classroom accomplishments should be commended. These are truly student athletes at their finest. There were five Bulldogs who made this year's College World Series All-Tournament Team. They are Erik Wetzel, Steve Susdorf, Steve Detwiler, Justin Wilson, and Tommy Mendonca. Congratulations to them. Tommy Mendonca from Turlock was also named the Collegiate World Series Most Outstanding Player, and was recently named to the 2008 National Collegiate Team. He comes from strong Portuguese Valley roots, and we enjoyed watching him play. Finally, we again want to congratulate the Fresno State team on a season well played. We tip our hat to the University of Georgia for an outstanding series, and all the teams that played this season. Mr. NUNES. As you can see, Mr. Costa is a very proud alumni, Mr. Speaker. Also, I would be mistaken not to mention my chief of staff, Johnny Amaral, is also a proud alumni of Fresno State. I know that he was really rooting for the team. This is going to be a very important victory for the San Joaquin Valley tonight. I know they are going to be welcomed home by probably thousands of fans in Fresno; and I know that Mr. Costa and I can't wait to hopefully greet the team here and invite them to our Nation's capital and possibly even get a White House visit. Does my colleague have anything else? Mr. COSTA. I just want to thank the gentleman for yielding. We want to congratulate all of those who are a part of the University and these fine students athletes for a job well done. Mr. NUNES. Thank you. ____________________