HOW THE CSU CARDIAC COUGARS WON THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
BY SCOTT MILLER
On June 2nd, 2002, the Columbus State baseball team won the National Championship by beating top ranked Chico State in the Division 2 College World Series Championship game. The Cougars beat the Wildcats 5-3 on a hot Sunday afternoon at Paterson Field in Montgomery, Alabama.
That victory capped an amazing week that saw the Cougars lose their 1st game in the World Series and then come back to win five straight and the championship. No team had done that since 1989. Three of the wins were come-from-behind wins, and two were walk off wins. The Cougars tied one game with two outs in the ninth, and they played a twelve inning game and a 13 inning game on back to back days.
The post season drama for the Cardiac Cougars started in the NCAA Regional in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Cougars rallied from a 7-1 deficit in the 8th inning of the championship game against Kennesaw State to punch their ticket to the College World Series.
My thanks to Anne Appleton for the photos and the slide show presentation that you see on this page.
I've opened the radio vault to pull out a show that I put together a few days after the Cougars returned to Columbus with the National Championship trophy. I take you through each post season game, setting up the big moments and replaying my play-by-play calls. That entire post season run is still the greatest time in my professional career. I want to thank the coaches and the players for allowing me to play a small part in such a big moment. So settle in, grab your lucky spot and relive the National Championship! Go Cougars!
Scott Miller