1997 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament

1997 Colonial Athletic Association
baseball tournament

Teams	8
Format	Double-elimination tournament
Finals site	Grainger Stadium Kinston, North Carolina
Champions	Richmond  (2nd title)
Winning coach	Ron Atkins  (2nd title)
MVP	John Wagler (Richmond)
← 1996 baseball tournament 1998 →

1997 Colonial Athletic Association baseball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
VCU  ‍†‍‍	15	–	4		.789			32	–	23		.582
Old Dominion  ‍‍‍	12	–	8		.600			34	–	20		.630
James Madison  ‍‍‍	10	–	10		.500			31	–	26		.544
George Mason  ‍‍‍	10	–	11		.476			29	–	24		.547
East Carolina  ‍‍‍	10	–	11		.476			29	–	27		.518
William & Mary  ‍‍‍	8	–	12		.400			30	–	24		.556
Richmond  ‍‍‡‍y	8	–	12		.400			34	–	26		.567
UNC Wilmington  ‍‍‍	7	–	12		.368			28	–	29		.491
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997 [1] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 1997 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament was held at Grainger Stadium in Kinston, North Carolina, from May 14 through 18. The event determined the champion of the Colonial Athletic Association for the 1997 season. Seventh-seeded Richmond won the tournament for the second time and earned the CAA's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

Entering the event, East Carolina had won the most championships, with five. Old Dominion had won three, George Mason had won two, while Richmond had won once. ^[2]

Format and seeding

The CAA's teams were seeded one to eight based on winning percentage from the conference's round robin regular season. They played a double-elimination tournament. ^[2]

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Seed
VCU	15	4	.789	—	1
Old Dominion	12	8	.600	3.5	2
James Madison	10	10	.500	5.5	3
George Mason	10	11	.476	6	4
East Carolina	10	11	.476	6	5
William & Mary	8	12	.400	7.5	6
Richmond	8	12	.400	7.5	7
UNC Wilmington	7	12	.368	8	8

Bracket and results

	Upper round 1					Upper round 2					Upper final										Final
	1	VCU	10
	8	UNC Wilmington	11
						8	UNC Wilmington	8
						5	East Carolina	912
	4	George Mason	5
	5	East Carolina	7
											5	East Carolina	3
											7	Richmond	6
	3	James Madison	8
	6	William & Mary	2
						3	James Madison	0
						7	Richmond	14
	2	Old Dominion	5
	7	Richmond	8																		7	Richmond	9
																					5	East Carolina	8	—
	Lower round 1					Lower round 2					Lower round 3					Lower final
						3	James Madison	2
	1	VCU	15			1	VCU	4								5	East Carolina	310
	4	George Mason	8								1	VCU	6			6	William & Mary	2
											6	William & Mary	9
						8	UNC Wilmington	0
	6	William & Mary	8			6	William & Mary	12
	2	Old Dominion	5

Most Valuable Player

John Wagler was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Wagler was an outfielder for Richmond. ^[2]

References

1. 2020 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Colonial Athletic Association. p. 17. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
2. 2020 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Colonial Athletic Association. p. 9. Retrieved January 29, 2021.