Washington finally earns trip to College World Series.

When Lindsay Meggs arrived at Washington nine years ago, he proclaimed that he wanted the Huskies to become an "Omaha program" worthy of being in the College World Series mix on a regular basis.

It's finally happened, and maybe in the most unlikely of seasons.

"I don't think we mapped it out exactly this way," Meggs said.

At one point this season, Washington was 18-18 overall after losing at home to TexasRio Grande Valley in a non-conference game in late April. On Saturday, they'll face Mississippi State in the first round of the College World Series. It's the first trip to Omaha in Washington's history, finally fulfilling the promise of a program that at times has featured great players and great teams, but has never put together a good enough postseason run.

Washington won 12 of its final 17 games to close the regular season and nearly won the Pac12 title. In the postseason, the Huskies are 5-1, their only loss in the second game of the Super Regional against Cal State Fullerton. They are far from a perfect team, but have found a way to achieve success unlike any other Washington program.

Washington is the last baseball-playing member of the Pac-12 to reach the College World Series.

"I'm a huge believer in a John Wooden quote saying the worst thing you can do for kids is the things they can do for themselves," Meggs said. "Our kids have learned to prepare for a weekend series. We may not have the most talented team. We may not have the most pitching depth but I think right now we're good at winning and this is the time you need to be good at winning. And I think that's because our kids are tough. I think their biggest skill is their toughness."

Washington has been overlooked in its region partly because of the rise of Oregon State. Baseball in the Pacific Northwest has always been a dicey proposition because of the winter and spring time climate. But the Beavers found a way to become a powerhouse, winning two national titles in the past decade and becoming regular visitors to Omaha. That kind of success raised the stakes for the programs around them, including Washington.

The Huskies had never gotten past the regional round since the twotiered system to get to Omaha was implemented in 1999. Washington had just two NCAA tournament appearances under Meggs before this year. But the Huskies got hot at the right time, winning the regional hosted by Costal Carolina with relative ease before outlasting Cal State Fullerton last weekend with a wild Game 3 victory.

"That was one of the craziest games I've been a part of," said Washington pitcher Joe DeMers, who allowed one run in the first eight innings of Game 3, only to see Fullerton rally for three runs in the ninth and take a 4-3 lead.

Washington scored once in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings and after Fullerton took a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th, the Huskies scored twice in the bottom of the inning to win.