1981 NCAA Division I baseball tournament

1981 NCAA Division I
baseball tournament
Season 1981
Teams 34
Finals site
Champions Arizona State (5th title)
Runner-up Oklahoma State (9th CWS Appearance)
Winning coach Jim Brock (2nd title)
MOP Stan Holmes (Arizona State)

The 1981 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1981 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 thirty fifth year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Seven regions held a four team, double-elimination tournament while one region included six teams, resulting in 34 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The thirty-fifth tournament's champion was Arizona State coached by Jim Brock. The Most Outstanding Player was Stan Holmes of Arizona State.

Regionals

The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight regional sites across the country, seven consisting of four teams and one of six teams. The winners of each Regional advanced to the College World Series.

Bold indicates winner.

Atlantic Regional at Clemson, SC

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Mississippi State 7
East Tennessee State 6
Mississippi State 5
Wichita State 1
Wichita State 7
Clemson 2
Mississippi State 6 —
East Tennessee State 5 —
Lower round 1 Lower final
Wichita State 4*
Clemson 1 East Tennessee State 5*
East Tennessee State 2

Central Regional at Austin, TX

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Lamar 6
Stanford 5
Lamar 2
Texas 3
Texas 11
BYU 4
Texas 8 10
Stanford 9 2
Lower round 1 Lower final
Lamar 1
BYU 1 Stanford 9
Stanford 2

East Regional at Columbia, SC

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Memphis 16
James Madison 3
Memphis 5
South Carolina 8
South Carolina 15
Temple 6
South Carolina 11 —
Memphis 5 —
Lower round 1 Lower final
Memphis 8
Temple 2 James Madison 3
James Madison 10

Mideast Regional at Ann Arbor, MI

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
New Orleans 2
Michigan 1
New Orleans 11
Eastern Michigan 18
Eastern Michigan 15
UNLV 3
Eastern Michigan 0 0
Michigan 10 4
Lower round 1 Lower final
New Orleans 1
UNLV 2 Michigan 7
Michigan 6

Midwest Regional at Tulsa, OK

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Southern Illinois 4
San Diego State 3
Southern Illinois 4
Oklahoma State 9
Oklahoma State 4
Oral Roberts 3
Oklahoma State 8 —
Oral Roberts 5 —
Lower round 1 Lower final
Southern Illinois 2
San Diego State 1 Oral Roberts 7
Oral Roberts 3

Northeast Regional at New Haven, CT

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Maine 10
Central Michigan 2
Maine 10
St. John's 5
St. John's 1*
Yale 0*
Maine 5 15
St. John's 10 0
Lower round 1 Lower final
St. John's 23
Yale 2 Central Michigan 13
Central Michigan 7

South Regional at Coral Gables, FL

Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Florida State 5
Florida 1 Florida State 9
Minnesota 5
Middle Tennessee 4 Florida State 6
Missouri 2 Miami (FL) 14
Middle Tennessee 0 Miami (FL) 8 —
Miami (FL) 2 Florida 6 —
Miami (FL) 12 Florida State 4
Minnesota 0 Middle Tennessee 4* Florida 5
Missouri 3 Florida 7
Florida 7

West Regional at Tempe, AZ

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Cal State Fullerton 9
Fresno State 8
Cal State Fullerton 9
Arizona State 18
Arizona State 9
Gonzaga 6
Arizona State 12 —
Cal State Fullerton 7 —
Lower round 1 Lower final
Cal State Fullerton 10
Gonzaga 8 Fresno State 9
Fresno State 10

College World Series

Participants

School Conference Record (conference) Head coach CWS appearances CWS best finish CWS record
Arizona State Pac-10 50–12 (26–4) Jim Brock 10
(last: 1978) 		1st
(1965, 1967, 1969, 1977) 		37–16
Maine Eastern Collegiate 32–12 (n/a) John Winkin 2
(last: 1976) 		3rd
(1964) 		5–4
Miami (FL) n/a 60–8 (n/a) Ron Fraser 4
(last: 1980) 		2nd
(1974) 		7–8
Michigan Big 10 41–18 (10–4) Bud Middaugh 4
(last: 1980) 		1st
(1953) 		10–5
Mississippi State SEC 45–15 (17–6) Ron Polk 2
(last: 1979) 		6th
(1979) 		1–4
Oklahoma State Big 8 49–15 (12–6) Gary Ward 8
(last: 1968) 		1st
(1959) 		19–15
South Carolina n/a 44–13 (n/a) June Raines 2
(last: 1977) 		2nd
(1975, 1977) 		7–4
Texas SWC 58–9–1 (16–5) Cliff Gustafson 18
(last: 1979) 		1st
(1949, 1950, 1975) 		38–32

Results

Bracket

Upper round 1 Upper round 2 Upper final Semifinals Preliminary final Final
Mississippi State 4
Michigan 1
Mississippi State 3
Arizona State 4
Arizona State 11
Texas 2
Arizona State 10
Oklahoma State 1113
Oklahoma State 810
Oklahoma State 8
South Carolina 5
Oklahoma State 12 Texas 1513
Miami (FL) 6
Miami (FL) 6
Maine 1 Oklahoma State 4
Texas 3 Arizona State 7
Lower round 1 Lower round 2 Arizona State 12
Miami (FL) 4
Michigan 5 Texas 5
Arizona State 10
Texas 6
South Carolina 7
Mississippi State 5
South Carolina 12 South Carolina 6
Maine 7

Game results

Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes
May 30 Game 1 Mississippi State 4–0 Michigan
Game 2 Arizona State 11–2 Texas
May 31 Game 3 Oklahoma State 8–5 (10 innings) South Carolina
Game 4 Miami (FL) 6–1 Maine
June 1 Game 5 Arizona State 4–3 Mississippi State
June 2 Game 6 Oklahoma State 12–6 Miami (FL)
Game 7 Texas 6–5 Michigan Michigan eliminated
June 3 Game 8 South Carolina 12–7 Maine Maine eliminated
June 4 Game 9 Oklahoma State 11–10 (13 innings) Arizona State Oklahoma St. qualified for final
Game 10 Texas 5–4 Miami (FL) Miami (FL) eliminated
June 5 Game 11 South Carolina 6–5 Mississippi State Mississippi State eliminated
June 6 Game 12 Texas 15–8 (13 innings) Oklahoma State
Game 13 Arizona State 10–7 South Carolina South Carolina eliminated
June 7 Game 14 Arizona State 12–3 Texas Texas eliminated
June 8 Final Arizona State 7–4 Oklahoma State Arizona State wins CWS

All-Tournament Team

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

Position Player School
P Kevin Dukes Arizona State
Don Mundie Mississippi State
C Burk Goldthorn Texas
1B Alvin Davis Arizona State
2B Ray Etchebarren Oklahoma State
3B Mike Sodders Arizona State
SS Rod Carraway South Carolina
OF Mark Gillaspie Mississippi State
Stan Holmes (MOP) Arizona State
Mickey Tettleton Oklahoma State
DH Lemmie Miller Arizona State

Notable players

See also