1977_NCAA_Division_II_baseball_tournament
The 1977 NCAA Division II baseball tournament was the 10th edition of the NCAA Division II baseball tournament. The 31-team tournament decided the champion of baseball in NCAA Division II for the 1977 season. The UC Riverside Highlanders won their first national championship, beating the Eckerd Tritons.[1] UC Riverside coach Jack Smitherman won his first title with the team, while Joe Lefebvre of Eckerd and Steve Glaum of UC Riverside were named Tournament Co-Most Outstanding Players.[2]
| Season | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | UC Riverside (1 title) |
| Runner-up | Eckerd (1st CWS Appearance) |
| Winning coach | Jack Smitherman (1st title) |
| MOP | Joe Lefebvre (OF-P) and Steve Glaum (P) (Eckerd Tritons and UC Riverside) |
| Attendance | 11,817 |
The regionals consisted 31 teams in eight groupings. There were five 4-team brackets, one 6-team bracket, one 3-team bracket, and one 2-team bracket. All brackets were double elimination format, with the exception of the 2-team bracket which was a best of 3 format. The top team in each bracket advanced to the 1977 Division II College World Series.[3]
New England Regional
Middle Atlantic Regional
Shippensburg (3–0)
California (PA) (1–2)
UMBC (0–2)
Shippensburg State won regional
South Atlantic Regional
Valdosta State (4–1)
West Georgia (2–2)
Columbus (1–2)
Randolph–Macon (0–2)
Valdosta State won regional
South Regional
Eckerd (3–0)
Florida Southern (2–2)
Jacksonville State (1–2)
Troy State (0–2)
Eckerd College won regional
Great Lakes Regional
SIU Edwardsville (3–0)
Northern Kentucky (2–2)
Wright State (1–2)
Youngstown State (0–2)
SIU Edwardsville won regional
North Central Regional
UMSL (4–0)
Omaha (3–2)
Southeast Missouri State (2–2)
Southwest Missouri State (1–2)
Minnesota State (0–2)
South Dakota State (0–2)
UMSL won regional
South Central Regional
Delta State (2–1)
Nicholls State (1–2)
Delta State won regional
West Regional
| First round | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Hayward | 1 | |||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | W | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | L | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | 16 | |||||||||||||
| Cal Poly | 1 | |||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 3 | W | ||||||||||||
| Cal State Hayward | 7 | L | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Hayward | W | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Hayward | W | Cal State Northridge | L | |||||||||||
| Cal Poly | L | |||||||||||||
Participants
| School | Conference | Record | Head coach | CWS appearances | CWS best finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta State | Gulf South Conference | 41–17 | Boo Ferries | 1 (last: 1968) | 2nd |
| Eckerd | Independent | 34–9 | Bill Livesey | 0 (last: none) | None |
| New Haven | Independent | 28–4 | Frank Vieira | 1 (last: 1974) | 3rd |
| Shippensburg | Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference | 32–11 | Art Fairchild | 0 (last: none) | None |
| SIU Edwardsville | Independent | 25-18-1 | Roy Lee | 2 (last: 1976) | 2nd |
| UC Riverside | California Collegiate Athletic Association | 43–19 | Jack Smitherman | 0 (last: none) | None |
| UMSL | Independent | 30–13 | Jim Dix | 2 (last: 1973) | 3rd |
| Valdosta State | Independent | 47–16 | Tommy Thomas | 1 (last: 1974) | 6th |
Bracket
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 2 | Upper final | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Final | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Haven | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shippensburg | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Haven | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eckerd | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eckerd | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Valdosta State | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eckerd | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMSL | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eckerd | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SIU Edwardsville | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMSL | 0 | Delta State | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delta State | 2 | Eckerd | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delta State | 3 | UC Riverside | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | UC Riverside | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UM St. Louis | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shippensburg | 1 | Valdosta State | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Valdosta State | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Valdosta State | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Haven | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SIU Edwardsville | 4 | Delta State | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delta State | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game results
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28 | 1 | New Haven | 6–1 | Shippensburg | |
| 2 | Eckerd | 2–1 | Valdosta State | ||
| 3 | UMSL | 9–5 | SIU Edwardsville | ||
| 4 | UC Riverside | 8–2 | Delta State | ||
| May 29 | 5 | Valdosta State | 2–1 (13) | Shippensburg | Shippensburg eliminated |
| 6 | Delta State | 5–4 | SIU Edwardsville | SIU Edwardsville eliminated | |
| 7 | Eckerd | 14–2 | New Haven | ||
| 8 | UC Riverside | 12–0 | UMSL | ||
| May 30 | 9 | Delta State | 5–3 | New Haven | New Haven eliminated |
| 10 | Valdosta State | 11–4 | Missouri-St. Louis | UMSL eliminated | |
| 11 | Eckerd | 8–2 | UC Riverside | ||
| May 31 | 12 | Delta State | 8–6 | Eckerd | |
| 13 | UC Riverside | 8–7 | Valdosta State | Valdosta St. eliminated | |
| June 1 | 14 | UC Riverside | 5–3 | Delta State | Delta State eliminated |
| June 2 | 15 | UC Riverside | 4–1 | Eckerd | UC Riverside wins CWS |
- "Division II Baseball Championships Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. p. 3. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- "Division II Baseball Championships Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. p. 4. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- "Division II Baseball Championships Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved August 15, 2022.