Georgia's David Thoms sits in the dugout after Fresno State won 6-1 in Game 3 of the College World Series to take the championship Wednesday.

OMAHA, Neb. — "Road to Omaha" is the catch phrase of College World Series hopefuls across the country.

For Fresno State, it led to a surprising run to the national championship.

Wednesday night's 6-1 victory over Georgia in Game 3 of the CWS finals marked Fresno State's 22nd straight road game since May 11.

Fresno State's players and staff were on the road 34 of the previous 41 days.

"Who would think we could stay together as a team being home in our own beds seven days and still coming out performing," said third baseman Tommy Mendonca, who was the CWS' most outstanding player. "It's a special group of guys."

The long journey started with a regular-season series at Sacramento State, then to Ruston, La., for the Western Athletic Conference tournament, on to Long Beach, Calif., for an NCAA regional and then to Tempe, Ariz., for super regionals.

When the team traveled to Omaha, its plane was diverted to Lincoln because of a tornado warning. The Bulldogs had to bus the last 50 miles of their trip.

"The road has become our home," center fielder Gavin Hedstrom said. "We've been so busy trying to do what we've been doing winning games, that it's been a great time."

With Steve Detwiler providing the offense for pitcher Justin Wilson, the Bulldogs captured their first national championship in a men's sport.

Detwiler homered twice and drove in all six runs, and Wilson allowed five hits in eight innings to cap Fresno State's ride to a title.

Mendonca said it's time to put the underdog talk to rest.

"From here on out, underdog does not mean anything," he said. "Write it down. Underdog does not mean anything. We showed anything can happen."

Fresno State was forecast to be a Top 25 team coming into the season, but the Bulldogs lost 12 of their first 20 games. They needed to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament just to make the NCAA field of 64, fought off elimination in regionals and super regionals, and became the first No. 4 regional seed to reach the CWS since the tournament expanded in 1999.