Underdogs Beat Bulldogs, Bruins Win CWS

OMAHA, Neb. -- UCLA's offense showed up this time, which meant Mississippi State never had a chance.

Eric Filia drove in a career-high five runs, Nick Vander Tuig limited Mississippi State to five hits in eight innings, and UCLA won its first national championship in baseball with an 8-0 victory Tuesday night.

The Bruins (49-17) completed a two-game sweep in the College World Series finals and ended the season with 11 straight wins. The national title is UCLA's NCAA-record 109th in team sports.

"They had a great year," UCLA coach John Savage said, "and it was one of those situations where it was our time."

Adam Plutko, the Bruins' No. 1 starter, was named the CWS' Most Outstanding Player. He beat LSU in the Bruins' first game and was the winner in Game 1 of the finals. He allowed two runs in 13 innings.

Vander Tuig held off the Bulldogs (51-20) when they threatened in the fourth, fifth and eighth innings and recorded his fourth win in the NCAA tournament. Vander Tuig (14-4) struck out six and walked one. David Berg pitched the ninth.

UCLA allowed four runs in five games to set a CWS record for fewest in the metal-bat era that started in 1974.

The Bruins' .227 batting average in the CWS also was the lowest since teams went away from wood bats. The Bruins' 19 runs in five games were the fewest by a champion since the CWS went to eight teams in 1950.

"It was a team effort all the way through," Savage said. "It was guys believing in each other and being great teammates. People didn't believe in us all season long. We kept battling, and it's a team win."

After Arizona's title last year, the Pac-12 has now won two straight and has 17 in all in baseball, most of any conference.

Courtesy of (AP)