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1998 NCAA Division I baseball tournament

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1998 NCAA Division I
baseball tournament
Season1998
Teams48
Finals site
ChampionsSouthern California (12th title)
Runner-upArizona State (18th CWS Appearance)
Winning coachMike Gillespie (1st title)
MOPWes Rachels (Southern California)

The 1998 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1998 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its fifty-second year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.[1] The fifty-second tournament's champion was Southern California, coached by Mike Gillespie. The championship was the Trojans' record 12th, but their first since 1978, the last under coach Rod Dedeaux. The Most Outstanding Player was USC second baseman Wes Rachels.

Regionals

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The opening rounds of the tournament were played at eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of a six-team field. Each regional tournament is double-elimination, however region brackets are variable depending on the number of teams remaining after each round. Regional games were scheduled for Thursday, May 21 through Sunday, May 24; however, one final Sunday game (Arizona State vs. Georgia Tech at Wichita) had to be played the next day due to rainout. The winners of each regional advanced to the College World Series.[2]

In the final year of the 48-team tournament, six regionals required the full 11 games. Only Florida State and LSU advanced to the CWS unscathed, while Long Beach State won four games over three days after losing their first to North Carolina St.
Bold indicates winner.

East Regional at Clemson, SC

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May 21May 22–23May 23May 24May 24
1Southern California4
3VCU14
1Southern California103VCU3
6Fordham65The Citadel23VCU0
5The Citadel5
4South Alabama6
6Fordham1
2Clemson12
4South Alabama3
5The Citadel3
2Clemson11Southern California4
4South Alabama2
3VCU14South Alabama2
4South Alabama21Southern California3
1Southern California8
2Clemson5

Atlantic I Regional at Coral Gables, FL

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May 21May 22–23May 23May 24May 24
1Miami (FL)5
3North Carolina6
1Miami (FL)213North Carolina8
6Bowling Green65FIU23North Carolina4
5FIU13
2South Carolina2
6Bowling Green7
2South Carolina21
3North Carolina4
5FIU9
2South Carolina91Miami (FL)7
4Texas Tech8
3North Carolina22South Carolina2
4Texas Tech61Miami (FL)14
1Miami (FL)13
4Texas Tech0

Atlantic II Regional at Tallahassee, FL

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May 21May 22May 23May 23May 24
1Florida State10
6Liberty71Florida State27
3Delaware6
2Auburn151Florida State23
5Rutgers174Oklahoma2
5Rutgers71Florida State16
4Oklahoma92Auburn10
3Delaware32Auburn9
4Oklahoma62Auburn74Oklahoma8
2Auburn35Rutgers4
6Liberty2

Central Regional at College Station, TX

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May 21May 22–23May 23May 24May 24
1Rice11
3Washington20
1Rice113Washington13
6Oral Roberts16Oral Roberts63Washington4
5UNC Charlotte13
2Texas A&M6
6Oral Roberts20
2Texas A&M17
2Texas A&M5
5UNC Charlotte0
2Texas A&M44Mississippi State11
4Mississippi State3
3Washington42Texas A&M9
4Mississippi State74Mississippi State10
1Rice14
4Mississippi State15

Midwest Regional at Wichita, KS

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May 21May 22–23May 23May 24May 25
1Wichita State2
4Arkansas3
1Wichita State74Arkansas0
6SE Missouri State42Georgia Tech22Georgia Tech6
2Georgia Tech14
5Oklahoma State5
6SE Missouri State5
2Georgia Tech4
2Georgia Tech1
5Oklahoma State13
5Oklahoma State133Arizona State3
3Arizona State8
3Arizona State85Oklahoma State5
4Arkansas43Arizona State13
1Wichita State4
3Arizona State6

South I Regional at Gainesville, FL

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May 21May 22–23May 23May 24May 24
1Florida5
3Baylor10
1Florida123Baylor7
6Monmouth85Illinois85Illinois13
5Illinois12
2Wake Forest4
6Monmouth2
2Wake Forest14
5Illinois6
5Illinois12
2Wake Forest61Florida7
4Richmond5
3Baylor102Wake Forest9
4Richmond121Florida12
1Florida15
4Richmond3

South II Regional at Baton Rouge, LA

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May 21May 22May 23May 23May 24
1LSU18
6Nicholls State41LSU15
4SW Louisiana6
2Cal State Fullerton161LSU13
5Harvard12Cal State Fullerton11
2Cal State Fullerton101LSU14
3Tulane62Cal State Fullerton3
3Tulane115Harvard3
4SW Louisiana55Harvard152Cal State Fullerton11
5Harvard63Tulane11
6Nicholls State5

West Regional at Stanford, CA

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May 21May 22–23May 23May 24May 24
6Loyola Marymount9
3Long Beach State19
1Stanford23Long Beach State5
6Loyola Marymount61Stanford13Long Beach State10
1Stanford19
4NC State6
5Minnesota1
2Alabama8
3Long Beach State5
5Minnesota2
2Alabama102Alabama3
4NC State13
3Long Beach State34NC State2
4NC State122Alabama9
2Alabama13
6Loyola Marymount5

College World Series

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The 1998 CWS was infamous for producing several high-scoring games, which was termed by media covering the Series as "Gorilla Ball" (or "Geaux-rilla Ball" among LSU fans), which placed a premium on home runs. LSU, which won the 1996 and 1997 national championships and set an NCAA record in 1997 by hitting 188 home runs, hit eight home runs in its first game (by seven different players) vs. USC, and added six more in its second game vs. Mississippi State to bring its season total to 157. Needing one victory to advance to the championship game for the third consecutive year, LSU fell twice to USC, hitting just one home run in 18 innings. USC and Pac-10 rival Arizona St. set numerous offensive records in the championship game, won by the Trojans 21–14.

Prior to the 1999 season, the NCAA adopted restrictions on aluminum bats, requiring the difference between the length and weight ("drop") of the bat to be no more than three (e.g. a 34-inch bat could not weigh less than 31 ounces). This reduced home run output slightly, but it was not until more sweeping changes in 2011 before aluminum bats would perform more like their wood counterparts.

Participants

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Seeding School Conference Record (conference) Head coach CWS appearances CWS best finish CWS record
1 Florida SEC 46–16 (21–8) Andy Lopez 3
(last: 1996)
3rd
(1991)
5–6
2 Miami (FL) n/a 50–10 (n/a) Jim Morris 16
(last: 1997)
1st
(1982, 1985)
34–28
3 Florida State ACC 53–18 (18–4) Mike Martin 15
(last: 1996)
2nd
(1970, 1986)
19–30
4 Southern California Pac-10 44–16 (21–9) Mike Gillespie 18
(last: 1995)
1st
(1948, 1958, 1961, 1963,
1968, 1970, 1971, 1972,
1973, 1974, 1978)
67–21
5 LSU SEC 46–17 (21–9) Skip Bertman 9
(last: 1997)
1st
(1991, 1993, 1996, 1997)
23–11
6 Arizona State Pac-10 38–22 (18–11) Pat Murphy 17
(last: 1994)
1st
(1965, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1981)
52–29
7 Long Beach State Big West 42–21–1 (23–7) Dave Snow 3
(last: 1993)
3rd
(1993)
4–6
8 Mississippi State SEC 41–21 (14–15) Pat McMahon 6
(last: 1997)
3rd
(1985)
6–12

Results

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Bracket

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First round Second round Semifinals Finals
             
1 Florida 13
8 Mississippi State 14
8 Mississippi State 8
5 LSU 10
4 Southern California 10
5 LSU 12
5 LSU 4 3
4 Southern California 5 7
1 Florida 10
4 Southern California 1211
8 Mississippi State 1
4 Southern California 7
4 Southern California 21
6 Arizona State 14
2 Miami (FL) 3
7 Long Beach State 1
2 Miami (FL) 2
6 Arizona State 9
3 Florida State 10
6 Arizona State 11
6 Arizona State 14
7 Long Beach State 4
7 Long Beach State 7
3 Florida State 4
2 Miami (FL) 3
7 Long Beach State 6

Game results

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Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes
May 29 Game 1 Arizona State 11–10 Florida State
Game 2 Miami (FL) 3–1 Long Beach State
May 30 Game 3 LSU 12–10 Southern California
Game 4 Mississippi State 14–13 Florida
May 31 Game 5 Arizona State 9–2 Miami (FL)
Game 6 Long Beach State 7–4 Florida State Florida State eliminated
June 1 Game 7 LSU 10–8 Mississippi State
Game 8 Southern California 12 – 10 (11 innings) Florida Florida eliminated
June 2 Game 9 Long Beach State 6–3 Miami (FL) Miami (FL) eliminated
Game 10 Southern California 7–1 Mississippi State Mississippi State eliminated
June 3 Game 11 Arizona State 14–4 Long Beach State Long Beach State eliminated
June 4 Game 12 Southern California 5–4 LSU
June 5 Game 13 Southern California 7–3 LSU LSU eliminated
June 6 Final Southern California 21–14 Arizona State Southern California wins CWS

All-Tournament Team

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The following players were members of the College World Series All-Tournament Team.

Position Player School
P Jack Krawczyk USC
Alex Santos Miami (FL)
C Eric Munson USC
1B Robb Gorr USC
2B Wes Rachels (MOP) USC
3B Andrew Beinbrink Arizona State
SS Michael Collins Arizona State
OF Rudy Arguellas Arizona State
Cedrick Harris LSU
Brad Ticehurst USC
DH Jason Lane USC

Notable players

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 195. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  2. ^ "1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Regional Tournament Schedule & Results". ESPN. May 25, 1998. Archived from the original on June 10, 2001. Retrieved January 11, 2009.