Well, it wasn't quite midnight, but even Cinderella has to leave the ball early when she makes three errors, throws five pitchers, and goes 2 for 12 with runners on. While Cal's College World Series elimination at the hands of Virginia yesterday left the team a few chapters short of a true storybook finish, it was a memorable season nonetheless, as the prospect of extinction at the hands of UC budget cutters hung over the team until April, when university officials reinstated the program after a massive fundraising effort by alumni.
The players helped, too. Witness the Cal Baseball Reinstatement Rap," a YouTube hit first posted in February, featuring Cal pitcher Eric Walbridge, infielder Derek Campbell and catcher Andrew Knapp.
"Yeah, raise your hand if you still got a program," the video starts.
Yep, they still do.