en 1978 NCAA Division II baseball tournament

1978 NCAA Division II
baseball tournament
Season	1978
Finals site	Lanphier Park; Springfield, IL;
Champions	Florida Southern (4th title)
Runner-up	Delta State (2nd CWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Joe Arnold (1st title)
MOP	Ricky Perkins (3B) (Delta State)
Attendance	625
	← 1977 ; NCAA Division II Baseball Championship; 1979 →;

The 1978 NCAA Division II baseball tournament was the postseason tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of baseball among its Division II colleges and universities at the end of the 1978 NCAA Division II baseball season.^[1]

Florida Southern defeated Delta State in the championship game of the double-elimination tournament, 7–2, winning the Moccasins' fourth national title. Florida Southern were coached by Joe Arnold.

Regionals

The regionals consisted 32 teams in eight groupings. Each regional consisted of a 4-team bracket. All brackets were double elimination format. The top team in each bracket advanced to the 1978 Division II College World Series.^[2]

New England Regional

New Haven (3–0)
Sacred Heart (2–2)
NYIT (1–2)
Assumption (0–2)

New Haven won regional

Middle Atlantic Regional

Le Moyne (3–1)
Shippensburg (3–2)
UMBC (1–2)
Towson (0–2)

Le Moyne won regional

South Atlantic Regional

Valdosta State (3–0)
West Georgia (2–2)
Augusta (1–2)
Albany State (0–2)

Valdosta State won regional

South Regional

Florida Southern (3–0)
FIU (2–2)
Saint Leo (1–2)
Eckerd (0–2)

Florida Southern won regional

Great Lakes Regional

Eastern Illinois (4–1)
Western Illinois (2–2)
Wright State (1–2)
Indianapolis (0–2)

Eastern Illinois won regional

North Central Regional

Southwest Missouri State (3–0)
Northwest Missouri State (2–2)
UMSL (1–2)
Morningside (0–2)

Southwest Missouri State won regional

South Central Regional

Delta State (3–1)
Troy State (3–2)
Minnesota State (1–2)
Southeastern Louisiana (0–2)

Delta State won regional

West Regional

San Diego (4–1)
Chapman (2–2)
UC Davis (1–2)
Chico State (0–2)

San Diego won regional

Finals

Participants

School	Conference	Record (conference)	Head coach	Previous finals appearances	Best finals finish	Finals record
Delta State	Gulf South	43–19 (14–4)	Boo Ferriss	2 (last:1977)	2nd	5–3
Eastern Illinois	Independent	27–19	Tom McDevitt	1 (last: 1973)	3rd	2–2
Florida Southern	Sunshine State	34–11	Joe Arnold	6 (last: 1976)	1st	13–9
Le Moyne	Independent	28–12	Dick Rockwell	0 (last: none)	None	0–0
New Haven	Independent	32–4	Frank Vieira	2 (last:1977)	3rd	3–4
San Diego	Independent	33–22	John Cunningham	1 (last: 1971)	3rd	1–2
Southwest Missouri State	MAIAA	28–10 (11–4)	Bill Rowe	2 (last:1970)	2nd	3–4
Valdosta State	SAC	39–20 (9–3)	Tommy Thomas	2 (last:1977)	3rd	2–4

Results

Bracket


First Round		Second Round		Third Round		Semifinals		Preliminary Final		Championship



Delta State	12

Southwest Missouri State	2
		Delta State	6

		San Diego	1
Eastern Illinois	6

San Diego	15
				Delta State	8

				Florida Southern	13
Florida Southern	14
						Florida Southern	8
New Haven	9
		Florida Southern	13			New Haven	14

		Valdosta State	7
Le Moyne	9

Valdosta State	10									Florida Southern	7

								New Haven	11	Delta State	2

		Consolation First Round		Consolation Second Round				Delta State	12



				San Diego	5

		New Haven	7¹⁰	New Haven	11
						Delta State	9
		Le Moyne	6
						Valdosta State	5
				Valdosta State	11

		SW Missouri State	11	Eastern Illinois	9

		Eastern Illinois	21

Game Results

Date	Game	Winner	Score	Loser	Notes
May 25	Game 1	Delta State	12–2	Southwest Missouri State
May 25	Game 2	San Diego	15–6	Eastern Illinois
May 26	Game 3	Florida Southern	14–9	New Haven
May 26	Game 4	Valdosta State	10–9	Le Moyne
May 27	Game 5	Eastern Illinois	21–11	Southwest Missouri State	Southwest Missouri State eliminated
	Game 6	New Haven	7–6¹⁰	Le Moyne	Le Moyne eliminated
	Game 7	Delta State	6–1	San Diego
	Game 8	Florida Southern	13–7	Valdosta State
May 28	Game 9	New Haven	11–5	San Diego	San Diego eliminated
May 28	Game 10	Valdosta State	11–9	Eastern Illinois	Eastern Illinois eliminated
May 29	Game 11	Florida Southern	13–8	Delta State
May 30	Game 12	Delta State	9–5	Valdosta State	Valdosta State eliminated
May 30	Game 13	New Haven	14–8	Florida Southern
May 31	Game 14	Delta State	12–1	New Haven	New Haven eliminated
May 31	Game 15	Florida Southern	7–2	Delta State	Florida Southern wins National Championship

References

^ "DIVISION II BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORDS BOOK" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
^ "Division II Baseball Championships Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 23, 2024.

[1] "DIVISION II BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORDS BOOK" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. Retrieved May 6, 2023.

[2] "Division II Baseball Championships Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 23, 2024.

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1978 NCAA Division II baseball tournament