THIS DAY IN CSU HISTORY

June 1, 2002

Montgomery, AL

BY SCOTT MILLER

Chris Gilstrap hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly with one out in the 13th inning and Columbus State beat Central Missouri State 4-3 to advance to the National Championship game.

A day after the Cougars beat Central Missouri State in 12 innings, Larry Pittmon raced home with the game winner, the fourth straight win for CSU in the D2 College World Series. The game matched the longest played in D2 championship history.

The "Cardiac" Cougars were down to their final out in the bottom of the 9th inning when Ladd Hammond drove in Shawn Sewell with an infield hit to tie the game.

Brian Baker earned his third win of the World Series with 4 2.3 innings of one-hit relief. Buck Bradberry gave the Cougars a great start with 8 1/3 innings, 2 earned runs, five strikeouts and no walks.

The thrilling win which wrapped up at 10:53 (ET) on a Saturday night put the Cougars in the National Championship game the following day against the number one team in the country, Chico State.

SPOILER ALERT: If you're a CSU fan, you'll want to check back here tomorrow to see what Sunday would bring!

On the link below, you can hear the play-by-play highlights of this game.

RELIVE EVERY GAME IN THE COUGARS POST SEASON RUN TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP