The 1981 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 1981 NCAA Division II baseball season. For the second consecutive year, the final tournament was played at the Riverside Sports Complex in Riverside, California.
Florida Southern defeated Eastern Illinois, 9–0, in the championship game of the double-elimination tournament, capturing the Moccasins' fifth national title and first since 1978. Florida Southern was coached by Joe Arnold.
Regionals The regionals consisted of 18 teams in six groupings. Four regionals consisted of a 4-team bracket while the remaining two played a best of five series. All brackets were double elimination format. The top team in each bracket advanced to the 1981 Division II College World Series.
Northeast Regional Team Wins Losses 3 0 2 2 1 2 0 2
South Regional Team Wins Losses 3 1 1 3
Midwest Regional Team Wins Losses 4 1 2 2 1 2 0 2
South Atlantic Regional Team Wins Losses 4 1 2 2 1 2 0 2
Central Regional Team Wins Losses 3 0 2 2 1 2 0 2
West Regional Team Wins Losses 3 1 1 3
Finals Participants School Conference Record (conference) Head coach Previous finals appearances Best finals finish Finals record CCAA 38–29 (17–13) Bob Hiegert 3 (last: 1975) 1st 6–5 Independent 36–14 Tom McDevitt 2 (last: 1978) 2nd 3–4 Sunshine State 55–8 (10–5) Joe Arnold 9 (last: 1980) 1st 20–14 Independent 27–6 Dick Rockwell 2 (last: 1979) 2nd 3–4 Gulf South 37–10 (12–0) Chase Riddle 1 (last: 1980) 3rd 1–2 CCAA 39–23 (17–13) Jack Smitheran 1 (last: 1977) 1st 5–1
Results Bracket
Game results Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes May 23 Game 1 10–5 Game 2 12–3 Game 3 6–4 May 24 Game 4 7–5 Le Moyne eliminated Game 5 14–12 UC Riverside eliminated Game 6 5–1 May 25 Game 7 8–3 Troy State eliminated Game 8 6–1 Game 9 3–2 Cal State Northridge eliminated May 27 Game 10 0–9 Florida Southern wins National Championship
See also 1981 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 1981 NCAA Division III baseball tournament 1981 NAIA World Series
References