Mayne part of Fresno State’s improbable title

Mike Mayne, the Orange Coast College baseball coach from 1977-92, proved to be a bit prophetic with a statement he made before the College World Series began.

“... We’re playing pretty doggone good right now and I think we can do some damage here [in Omaha],” Mayne, Fresno State’s pitching coach, told the Daily Pilot in a story published June 15, the day the Bulldogs began their improbable CWS run. “If we win that first game, watch out.”

Mayne and Fresno State won that first game and did plenty of damage, becoming the lowest seed to win an NCAA championship on Wednesday night. Fresno State (47-31) defeated Georgia, 6-1, in the last game of the best-of-three CWS finals.

Justin Wilson, Fresno State’s junior left-hander, struck out nine, walked one and held Georgia to five hits and one run in eight innings. He shut out Georgia through the first seven innings.

For Mayne, it was a great way to go out.

Mayne, 62, in his first year with Fresno State, had already said he would not return.

— From staff reports