A thrilling ending to a thrilling Tournament

by Peter Ferak, www.coverguy.wordpress.com reporting for Mister-Baseball.com from WUBC

Tommy Mendonca overcame significant problems with his Collegiate Baseball team, the Fresno State Bulldogs, on their campaign towards a National Championship. A near-plane crash on the way to Omaha, Nebraska and extremely high odds stacked against them were only some of the things they struggled through. All the energy would’ve gone to waste weren’t it for tremendous performances from Pitcher Justin Wilson and Right Fielder Steve Detwiler (2 HR) in the deciding game against Georgia. When asked how much of an inspiration these players were to him Tommy Mendonca (Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series 2008) noted: “What the guys did for us was tremendous. Justin gave us 7 very strong innings and Steve was playing with a torn ligament in his thumb, for them to do what they did was really amazing. “

This summer Mendonca is overcoming some problems of his own and by his own, “it takes about one week to adjust to wooden bats. Both kinds of bats have their advantages, if you hit it hard with a wooden bat, it’s going to go a long ways, but if you don’t you can get in trouble, this is where an aluminum bat helps. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out for me yet. “.

He’s had a hard time at the plate. During the entire trip his hit total added up to 8. Factoring in the 48 At-Bats this translates to a mere .167 Batting Average.

This time around he doesn’t have his teammates from Fresno State to help him out, luckily he’s playing with the very best College Baseball has to offer as a member of Team USA at the World University Baseball Championships. “Everyone has a role on the team, and sometimes that is not to be the starter. We just have to accept the decisions our coaches make and try to do our part the best we can.”, said Mendonca.

But what makes great players outstanding is their ability to perform in the biggest of situations. And when the team needed him the most Mendonca managed a 4 for 4 night and nearly scored the first run of the game when he was thrown out trying to score from second base on a single by Matt den Dekker in the top of the 13th.

“This experience will definitely help me with my play. I picked up new things from our coaches here“, said Mendonca who’s planning on playing Pro-Baseball, wherever and whenever that may be.

When I asked Coach Meyers after the teams semifinal victory over Korea for his favorite player on his own team he said “the guy who helps us win the most tomorrow” would probably be dearest in his heart of hearts. But more importantly he recognized the team-effort and dedication it took to accomplish such a great feat. “We’ve been working for a long time, a good part of almost seven weeks to build up to this opportunity tomorrow.” And the team didn’t let the chance get away.

It took a 9+ Inning performance by Mike Minor and a total of 12 hits to scrape in one run, but Team USA got it done with what had worked for them all along: Pitching and Defense.

I asked Mendonca what his favorite moment in the trip was a day before the Final game. “Hopefully tomorrow”, he stated raising his pitch in excitement. And so it came. He can now take with him the memory of beating an outstanding team Japan and having done everything in his power to accomplish this goal that was set forth some seven weeks ago.

Photos: © Peter Ferak