1981 NCAA Division II baseball tournament

Last updated

1981 NCAA Division II
baseball tournament
Season1981
Finals site
Champions Florida Southern  (5th title)
Runner-up Eastern Illinois (1st CWS Appearance)
Winning coach Joe Arnold  (2nd title)
MOP Joe Sickles (OF) (Florida Southern)
Attendance10,644

The 1981 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 1981 NCAA Division II baseball season. [1] For the second consecutive year, the final tournament was played at the Riverside Sports Complex in Riverside, California.

Contents

Florida Southern defeated Eastern Illinois, 9–0, in the championship game of the double-elimination tournament, capturing the Moccasins' fifth national title and first since 1978. Florida Southern was coached by Joe Arnold.

Regionals

The regionals consisted 18 teams in six groupings. Four regionals consisted of a 4-team bracket while the remaining two played a best of five series. All brackets were double elimination format. The top team in each bracket advanced to the 1981 Division II College World Series. [2]

Northeast Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Le Moyne 30
Adelphi 22
UMass Lowell 12
New Haven 02

South Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Florida Southern 31
Eckerd 13

Midwest Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Eastern Illinois 41
Omaha 22
Lewis 12
Central Missouri 02

South Atlantic Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Cal State Northridge 41
Valdosta State 22
Columbus State 12
Shippensburg 02

Central Regional

TeamWinsLosses
Troy State 30
Delta State 22
Northern Kentucky 12
Indianapolis 02

West Regional

TeamWinsLosses
UC Riverside 31
San Francisco State 13

Finals

Participants

SchoolConferenceRecord (conference)Head coachPrevious finals appearancesBest finals finishFinals record
Cal State Northridge CCAA 38–29 (17–13) Robert Hiegert 3
(last: 1975)		1st6–5
Eastern Illinois Independent 36–14 Tom McDevitt 2
(last: 1978)		2nd3–4
Florida Southern Sunshine State 55–8 (10–5) Joe Arnold 9
(last: 1980)		1st20–14
Le Moyne Independent 27–6 Dick Rockwell 2
(last: 1979)		2nd3–4
Troy State Gulf South 37–10 (12–0) Chase Riddle 1
(last: 1980)		3rd1–2
UC Riverside CCAA 39–23 (17–13) Jack Smitheran 1
(last: 1977)		1st5–1

Results

Bracket

First RoundSecond RoundSemifinalsChampionshipFinal
Cal State Northridge 10
Le Moyne 5UC Riverside12
Cal State Northridge14
Eastern Illinois 3Cal State Northridge1
Troy State 12Florida Southern6
Troy State1Florida Southern9
Florida Southern5Eastern Illinois0
UC Riverside 4Cal State Northridge2
Florida Southern 6Troy State3Eastern Illinois3
Le Moyne5Eastern Illinois8
Eastern Illinois7


Game Results

DateGameWinnerScoreLoserNotes
May 23Game 1 Cal State Northridge 10–5 Le Moyne
Game 2 Troy State 12–3 Eastern Illinois
Game 3 Florida Southern 6–4 UC Riverside
May 24Game 4 Eastern Illinois 7–5 Le Moyne Le Moyne eliminated
Game 5 Cal State Northridge 14–12 UC Riverside UC Riverside eliminated
Game 6 Florida Southern 5–1 Troy State
May 25Game 7 Eastern Illinois 8–3 Troy State Troy State eliminated
Game 8 Florida Southern 6–1 Cal State Northridge
Game 9 Eastern Illinois 3–2 Cal State Northridge Cal State Northridge eliminated
May 27Game 10 Florida Southern 0–9 Eastern Illinois Florida Southern wins National Championship

See also

References

  1. ↑ "DIVISION II BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORDS BOOK" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Division II Baseball Championships Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
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