The 1979 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1979 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 third 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.[1] The thirty-third tournament's champion was Cal State Fullerton, coached by Augie Garrido. The Most Outstanding Player was Tony Hudson of Cal State Fullerton.
| Season | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 34 |
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Cal State Fullerton (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Arkansas (1st CWS Appearance) |
| Winning coach | Augie Garrido (1st title) |
| MOP | Tony Hudson (Cal State Fullerton) |
Regionals
Seven of the eight regionals were played as 4-team double-elimination tournaments. One regional was played as a 6-team double-elimination tournament. The winner of each regional moved on to the College World Series.
Northeast Regional
Games played at Annapolis, Maryland.
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Navy | 4 | |||||||||||||
| St. John's | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 3 | |||||||||||||
| St. John's | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 0 | |||||||||||||
| St. John's | 4 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 14 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 15 | |||||||||||||
| Navy | 4 | Nebraska | 0 | |||||||||||
| Nebraska | 13 | |||||||||||||
Atlantic Regional
Games played at Coral Gables, Florida.
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Clemson | 8 | |||||||||||||
| Georgia Southern | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Clemson | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 316 | |||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 4 | — | ||||||||||||
| Clemson | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Clemson | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Georgia Southern | 5 | Georgia Southern | 0 | |||||||||||
| The Citadel | 3 | |||||||||||||
Mideast Regional
Games played at East Lansing, Michigan.
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 11 | |||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 6 | |||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 15 | |||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 15 | |||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 13 | — | ||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 2 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 4 | Michigan State | 4 | |||||||||||
| Michigan State | 6 | |||||||||||||
East Regional
Games played at Tallahassee, Florida
| First Round | Second Round | Third Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | |||||||||||||||
| Delaware | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Seton Hall | 1 | Delaware | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Florida State | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 12 | Delaware | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| George Washington | 11 | Arkansas | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 9 | Arkansas | 4 | — | |||||||||||||||
| Florida | 1 | Delaware | 3 | — | |||||||||||||||
| Florida | 9 | Delaware | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Florida State | 5 | Florida | 12 | Florida | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Seton Hall | 2 | George Washington | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| George Washington | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
Midwest Regional
Games played at Tucson, Arizona.
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Indiana State | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Arizona | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Arizona | 8 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Arizona | 5 | — | ||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 3 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Indiana State | 2 | Oklahoma | 8 | |||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 9 | |||||||||||||
Central Regional
Games played at Austin, Texas.
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Texas | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Texas–Pan American | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Texas | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Lamar | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Lamar | 3 | |||||||||||||
| BYU | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Texas | 6 | — | ||||||||||||
| BYU | 2 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Lamar | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Texas–Pan American | 5 | BYU | 7 | |||||||||||
| BYU | 11 | |||||||||||||
South Regional
Games played at Starkville, Mississippi.
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Murray State | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Tulane | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Murray State | 16 | |||||||||||||
| New Orleans | 15 | |||||||||||||
| New Orleans | 13 | |||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 11 | |||||||||||||
| Murray State | 6 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 8 | 18 | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| New Orleans | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Tulane | 4 | Mississippi State | 13 | |||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 12 | |||||||||||||
West Regional
Games played at Fresno, California.
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| UCLA | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 4 | |||||||||||||
| UCLA | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 10* | |||||||||||||
| Portland | 8* | |||||||||||||
| UCLA | 2 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 20 | Cal State Fullerton | 12 | |||||||||||
| Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||
College World Series
Connecticut, Miami (FL), Pepperdine, Arkansas, Arizona, Texas, Mississippi St., and Cal St. Fullerton won their regionals and moved on to the College World Series.
Participants
| School | Conference | Record (conference) | Head coach | CWS appearances | CWS best finish | CWS record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Pac-10 | 42–23 (17–13) | Jerry Kindall | 10 (last: 1976) | 1st (1976) | 21–19 |
| Arkansas | SWC | 46–13 (19–5) | Norm DeBriyn | 0 (last: none) | none | 0–0 |
| Cal State Fullerton | SCBA | 55–13 (23–4) | Augie Garrido | 1 (last: 1975) | 7th (1975) | 0–2 |
| Connecticut | Eastern Collegiate | 31–11 (n/a) | Larry Panciera | 4 (last: 1972) | 5th (1957, 1972) | 3–8 |
| Miami (FL) | n/a | 55–9 (n/a) | Ron Fraser | 2 (last: 1978) | 2nd (1974) | 5–4 |
| Mississippi State | SEC | 47–10 (17–2) | Ron Polk | 1 (last: 1971) | 7th (1971) | 0–2 |
| Pepperdine | SCBA | 50–16 (19–9) | Dave Gorrie | 0 (last: none) | none | 0–0 |
| Texas | SWC | 53–6 (22–2) | Cliff Gustafson | 17 (last: 1975) | 1st (1949, 1950, 1975) | 36–30 |
Results
Bracket
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 2 | Upper final | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Final | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 8 | Cal State Fullerton | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 1 | Cal State Fullerton | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 8 | Arkansas | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Pepperdine | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 9 | Pepperdine | 510 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 3 | Cal State Fullerton | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game results
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1 | Game 1 | Arkansas | 5–4 | Pepperdine | |
| Game 2 | Arizona | 5–1 | Miami (FL) | ||
| June 2 | Game 3 | Texas | 11–5 | Connecticut | |
| Game 4 | Mississippi State | 6–1 | Cal State Fullerton | ||
| Game 5 | Pepperdine | 9–3 | Miami (FL) | Miami eliminated | |
| June 3 | Game 6 | Cal State Fullerton | 8–3 | Connecticut | Connecticut eliminated |
| Game 7 | Arkansas | 10–3 | Arizona | ||
| Game 8 | Texas | 8–2 | Mississippi State | ||
| June 4 | Game 9 | Cal State Fullerton | 16–3 | Arizona | Arizona eliminated |
| Game 10 | Pepperdine | 5–4 (10 innings) | Mississippi State | Mississippi State eliminated | |
| June 5 | Game 11 | Arkansas | 9–4 | Texas | |
| June 6 | Game 12 | Pepperdine | 6–4 | Texas | Texas eliminated |
| Game 13 | Cal State Fullerton | 13–10 | Arkansas | ||
| June 7 | Game 14 | Cal State Fullerton | 8–5 | Pepperdine | Pepperdine eliminated |
| June 8 | Final | Cal State Fullerton | 2–1 | Arkansas | Cal State Fullerton wins CWS |
All-Tournament Team
The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.
| Position | Player | School |
|---|---|---|
| P | Tony Hudson (MOP) | Cal State Fullerton |
| Steve Krueger | Arkansas | |
| C | Kurt Kingsolver | Cal State Fullerton |
| 1B | Tim Wallach | Cal State Fullerton |
| 2B | Mike Gates | Pepperdine |
| 3B | Dan Hanggie | Cal State Fullerton |
| SS | Larry Wallace | Arkansas |
| OF | Marc Brumble | Arkansas |
| Kevin McReynolds | Arkansas | |
| Joseph Bruno | Texas | |
| DH | Keith Walker | Texas |
Notable players
- Arizona: Terry Francona, Craig Lefferts, Brad Mills, John Moses, Jim Scranton, Dwight Taylor
- Arkansas: Kevin McReynolds, Johnny Ray, Ronn Reynolds
- Cal State Fullerton: John Christensen, Andre David, Tim Wallach
- Connecticut:
- Miami (FL): Tony Brewer, Neal Heaton, Ross Jones, Mike Pagliarulo, Dennis Owens
- Mississippi State: Tim Weisheim
- Pepperdine: Mike Gates
- Texas: Jim Acker, Tony Arnold, Joseph Bruno, Keith Creel, Ron Gardenhire, Jerry Don Gleaton, Andre Robertson, Ricky Wright
Tournament notes
- In the South Regional semifinal Murray State and New Orleans set a tournament record for most combined runs in a game (31).