1997 Southland Conference baseball tournament


The 1997 Southland Conference baseball tournament was held from May 14 to 17, 1997[2] to determine the champion of the Southland Conference in the sport of college baseball for the 1997 season. The event pitted the top six finishers from the conference's regular season in a double-elimination tournament held at Warhawk Field, home field of Northeast Louisiana in Monroe, Louisiana. Second-seeded Southwest Texas State won their first championship and claimed the automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[3]

1997 Southland Conference
baseball tournament
Teams6
FormatDouble-elimination
Finals site
ChampionsSouthwest Texas State (1st title)
Winning coachHoward Bushong (1st title)
MVPJeremy Fikac (Southwest Texas State)
1997 Southland Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
Louisiana
Northwestern State  x‍‍‍ 19 9 0   .679 35 22 0   .614
Northeast Louisianae  ‍‍‍ 17 11 0   .607 33 21 0   .611
McNeese State  ‍‍‍ 11 19 0   .367 19 31 1   .382
Nicholls State  ‍‍‍ 9 19 0   .321 19 35 0   .352
Texas
Southwest Texas State  x‍‍y 18 11 0   .621 38 26 0   .594
Sam Houston State  ‍‍‍ 17 11 0   .607 36 27 0   .571
Texas–Arlington  ‍‍‍ 12 17 0   .414 22 35 0   .386
Texas–San Antonio  ‍‍‍ 12 18 0   .400 20 36 0   .357
x – Division champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1997[1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Seeding and format

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The top six finishers from the regular season were seeded one through six. They played a double-elimination tournament.

Team W L T Pct Seed
Louisiana Division
Northwestern State 19 9 .679 1
Northeast Louisiana 17 11 .607 2 4
McNeese State 11 19 .367 9
Nicholls State 9 19 .321 10
Team W L T Pct Seed
Texas Division
Southwest Texas State 18 11 .621 2
Sam Houston State 17 11 .607 .5 3
Texas–Arlington 12 17 .414 6 5
UTSA 12 18 .400 6.5 6

Bracket and results

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First roundSecond roundThird roundSemifinalsFinal
1Northwestern State3
6UTSA56UTSA5
4Northeast Louisiana3
3Sam Houston State96UTSA3
4Northeast Louisiana83Sam Houston State2
3Sam Houston State126UTSA27
5Texas–Arlington32Southwest Texas State89
2Southwest Texas State103Sam Houston State4
5Texas–Arlington115Texas–Arlington12Southwest Texas State16
1Northwestern State32Southwest Texas State14
2Southwest Texas State12

All-Tournament Team

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The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[3]

Pos. Name School
P David Balcer Northwestern State
Jeremy Fikac Southwest Texas State
C Chad Spear Southwest Texas State
1B Ron Thames Sam Houston State
2B Brad Prihoda Sam Houston State
3B Brad Eubank Southwest Texas State
SS Tim Linville Texas–Arlington
OF Sean Alvarez UTSA
Matt Schnabel Southwest Texas State
Colin Wissen Southwest Texas State
DH Tony Gee UTSA

Most Valuable Player

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Jeremy Fikac was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Fikac was a pitcher for Southwest Texas State.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "2018 Southland Conference Baseball" (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 15. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  2. ^ 2018 Baseball Media Guide (PDF). Northwestern State Demons. p. 44. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 28. Retrieved January 6, 2019.