1979 NCAA Division II baseball tournament

Last updated

1979 NCAA Division II
baseball tournament
Season1979
Finals site
Champions Valdosta State  (1st title)
Runner-up Florida Southern (5th CWS Appearance)
Winning coach Tommy Thomas  (1st title)
MOP Frank DeGennaro (OF) (Valdosta State)
Attendance12,815

The 1979 NCAA Division II baseball tournament was the postseason tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of baseball among its Division II colleges and universities at the end of the 1979 NCAA Division II baseball season. [1]

Contents

Valdosta State defeated defending champions Florida Southern in the championship game, 3–2, of the double-elimination tournament, capturing the Blazers' first national title. Valdosta State was coached by Tommy Thomas.

Regionals

The regionals consisted 32 teams in eight groupings. Each regional consisted of a 4-team bracket. All brackets were double elimination format. The top team in each bracket advanced to the 1979 Division II College World Series. [2]

New England Regional

TeamWinsLosses
New Haven 41
Quinnipiac 22
Springfield 12
UMass Lowell 02

Middle Atlantic Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Le Moyne 30
California (PA) 22
UMBC 12
Shippensburg 02

South Atlantic Regiona

TeamWinsLosses
Valdosta State 30
Columbus State 22
Rollins 12
West Georgia 02

South Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Florida Southern 30
Eckerd 22
FIU 12
UCF 02

Great Lakes Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Northern Kentucky 30
Bellarmine 22
Southern Indiana 12
Akron 02

North Central Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Mankato State 30
UMSL 22
Southwest Missouri State 12
Northwest Missouri State 02

South Central Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Jacksonville State 30
Delta State 22
Troy State 12
West Alabama 02

West Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Cal Poly Pomona 30
UC Davis 22
Chapman 12
San Francisco State 02

Finals

Participants

SchoolConferenceRecord (conference)Head coachPrevious finals appearancesBest finals finishFinals record
Cal Poly Pomona CCAA 43–26–1 (16–8) John Scolinos 1
(last: 1976)		1st4–1
Florida Southern Sunshine State 40–12 (10–5) Joe Arnold 7
(last: 1978)		1st17–10
Jacksonville State Gulf South 43–7 (7–5) Rudy Abbott 1
(last: 1973)		6th0–2
Le Moyne Independent 31–8Dick Rockwell1
(last: 1978)		7th0–2
Mankato State Northern Intercollegiate 26–11–1 (14–4) Dean Bowyer 1
(last: 1971)		4th0–2
New Haven Independent 29–11 Frank Vieira 3
(last: 1978)		3rd6–6
Northern Kentucky Independent 36–15Bill Aker0
(last: none)		None0–0
Valdosta State SAC 47–14–1 (8–4) Tommy Thomas 3
(last: 1978)		3rd4–6

Results

Bracket

First RoundSecond RoundThird RoundSemifinalsElimination finalChampionship
Le Moyne 6
Mankato State 2
Le Moyne3
Florida Southern15
Cal Poly Pomona 3
Florida Southern 413
Florida Southern4
New Haven3
Jacksonville State 4
Florida Southern3
Valdosta State 15
Valdosta State3Valdosta State11
New Haven4
New Haven 6
Northern Kentucky 3Florida Southern2
Valdosta State8Valdosta State3
Consolation First RoundConsolation Second RoundLe Moyne3
Le Moyne7
Jacksonville State9Jacksonville State0
New Haven2
Northern Kentucky8
Le Moyne3
Valdosta State6
Mankato State4Cal Poly Pomona3
Cal Poly Pomona10

Game Results

DateGameWinnerScoreLoserNotes
May 24Game 1 Le Moyne 6–2 Mankato State
Game 2 Florida Southern 4–3 13 Cal Poly Pomona
May 25Game 3 Valdosta State 15–4 Jacksonville State
Game 4 New Haven 6–3 Northern Kentucky
May 26Game 5 Florida Southern 15–3 Le Moyne
May 27Game 6 New Haven 4–3 Valdosta State
Game 7 Cal Poly Pomona 10–4 Mankato State Mankato State eliminated
Game 8 Jacksonville State 9–8 Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky eliminated
May 28Game 9 Florida Southern 4–3 New Haven
Game 10 Valdosta State 6–3 Cal Poly Pomona Cal Poly Pomona eliminated
Game 11 Le Moyne 7–0 Jacksonville State Jacksonville State eliminated
Game 12 Valdosta State 11–3 Florida Southern
May 29Game 13 Le Moyne 3–2 New Haven New Haven eliminated
Game 14 Valdosta State 8–3 Le Moyne Le Moyne eliminated
May 30Game 15 Valdosta State 3–2 Florida Southern Valdosta State wins National Championship

See also

References

  1. ↑ "DIVISION II BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORDS BOOK" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Division II Baseball Championships Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
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