1998 NCAA Division I baseball tournament

August 2023 1998 Division I 48 Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium Omaha, Nebraska Southern California 12th Arizona State 18th Mike Gillespie 1st Wes Rachels Southern California NCAA Division I Baseball Championship The 1998 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1998 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 fifty-second year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.NCAA Men's College World Series Records http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/baseball_cws_RB/2009CWSfull.pdf NCAA November 5, 2014 195 2009 The fifty-second tournament's champion was Southern California, coached by Mike Gillespie. The championship was the Trojans' record 12th, but their first since 1978, the last under coach Rod Dedeaux. The Most Outstanding Player was USC second baseman Wes Rachels. Regionals The opening rounds of the tournament were played at eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of a six-team field. Each regional tournament is double-elimination, however region brackets are variable depending on the number of teams remaining after each round. Regional games were scheduled for Thursday, May 21 through Sunday, May 24; however, one final Sunday game (Arizona State vs. Georgia Tech at Wichita) had to be played the next day due to rainout. The winners of each regional advanced to the College World Series.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/college/skeds.html https://web.archive.org/web/20010610213813/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/college/skeds.html dead June 10, 2001 1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Regional Tournament Schedule & Results ESPN May 25, 1998 January 11, 2009 In the final year of the 48-team tournament, six regionals required the full 11 games. Only Florida State and LSU advanced to the CWS unscathed, while Long Beach State won four games over three days after losing their first to North Carolina St. Bold indicates winner. East Regional at Clemson, SC 2 May 21 May 22–23 May 23 May 24 May 24 1 Southern California 10 6 1998 Fordham Rams Fordham 6 2 Clemson 12 5 The Citadel 3 3 1998 VCU Rams VCU 1 4 1998 South Alabama Jaguars South Alabama 2 1 Southern California 4 3 VCU 14 5 The Citadel 5 6 Fordham 1 2 Clemson 1 4 South Alabama 216 1 Southern California 8 2 Clemson 5 3 VCU 3 5 The Citadel 2 4 South Alabama 2 1 Southern California 3 3 VCU 0 4 South Alabama 6 4 South Alabama 3 1 Southern California 4 Atlantic I Regional at Coral Gables, FL 2 May 21 May 22–23 May 23 May 24 May 24 1 Miami (FL) 21 6 1998 Bowling Green Falcons Bowling Green 6 2 1998 South Carolina Gamecocks South Carolina 21 5 1998 FIU Golden Panthers FIU 9 3 1998 North Carolina Tar Heels North Carolina 2 4 1998 Texas Tech Red Raiders Texas Tech 6 1 Miami (FL) 5 3 North Carolina 6 5 FIU 13 6 Bowling Green 7 2 South Carolina 9 4 Texas Tech 8 1 Miami (FL) 13 4 Texas Tech 0 3 North Carolina 8 5 FIU 2 2 South Carolina 2 1 Miami (FL) 14 3 North Carolina 4 2 South Carolina 2 3 North Carolina 4 1 Miami (FL) 7 Atlantic II Regional at Tallahassee, FL May 21 May 22 May 23 May 23 May 24 1 Florida State 10 6 1998 Liberty Flames Liberty 7 2 1998 Auburn Tigers Auburn 15 5 1998 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Rutgers 17 3 1998 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Delaware 3 4 1998 Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma 6 1 Florida State 27 3 Delaware 6 5 Rutgers 7 4 Oklahoma 9 2 Auburn 3 6 Liberty 2 1 Florida State 23 4 Oklahoma 2 2 Auburn 7 5 Rutgers 4 2 Auburn 9 4 Oklahoma 8 1 Florida State 16 — 2 Auburn 10 — Central Regional at College Station, TX 2 May 21 May 22–23 May 23 May 24 May 24 1 1998 Rice Owls Rice 11 6 1998 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles Oral Roberts 1 2 1998 Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M 17 5 1998 UNC Charlotte 49ers UNC Charlotte 0 3 1998 Washington Huskies Washington 4 4 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State 7 1 Rice 11 3 Washington 20 5 UNC Charlotte 13 6 Oral Roberts 20 2 Texas A&M 4 4 Mississippi State 3 1 Rice 14 4 Mississippi State 15 3 Washington 13 6 Oral Roberts 6 2 Texas A&M 9 4 Mississippi State 10 3 Washington 4 2 Texas A&M 6 2 Texas A&M 5 4 Mississippi State 11 Midwest Regional at Wichita, KS 2 May 21 May 22–23 May 23 May 24 May 25 1 1998 Wichita State Shockers Wichita State 7 6 1998 Southeast Missouri Redhawks SE Missouri State 4 2 1998 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Georgia Tech 4 5 1998 Oklahoma State Cowboys Oklahoma State 13 3 Arizona State 8 4 1998 Arkansas Razorbacks Arkansas 4 1 Wichita State 2 4 Arkansas 311 2 Georgia Tech 14 6 SE Missouri State 5 5 Oklahoma State 13 3 Arizona State 8 1 Wichita State 4 3 Arizona State 6 4 Arkansas 0 2 Georgia Tech 2 5 Oklahoma State 5 3 Arizona State 13 2 Georgia Tech 6 5 Oklahoma State 5 2 Georgia Tech 1 3 Arizona State 3 South I Regional at Gainesville, FL 2 May 21 May 22–23 May 23 May 24 May 24 1 Florida 12 6 1998 Monmouth Hawks Monmouth 8 2 1998 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Wake Forest 14 5 1998 Illinois Fighting Illini Illinois 12 3 1998 Baylor Bears Baylor 10 4 1998 Richmond Spiders Richmond 12 1 Florida 5 3 Baylor 10 5 Illinois 12 6 Monmouth 2 2 Wake Forest 6 4 Richmond 5 1 Florida 15 4 Richmond 3 3 Baylor 7 5 Illinois 813 2 Wake Forest 9 1 Florida 12 5 Illinois 13 2 Wake Forest 4 5 Illinois 6 1 Florida 7 South II Regional at Baton Rouge, LA May 21 May 22 May 23 May 23 May 24 1 LSU 18 6 1998 Nicholls State Colonels Nicholls State 4 2 1998 Cal State Fullerton Titans Cal State Fullerton 16 5 1998 Harvard Crimson Harvard 1 3 1998 Tulane Green Wave Tulane 11 4 1998 Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns SW Louisiana 5 1 LSU 15 4 SW Louisiana 6 2 Cal State Fullerton 10 3 Tulane 6 5 Harvard 610 6 Nicholls State 5 1 LSU 13 2 Cal State Fullerton 11 5 Harvard 15 3 Tulane 11 5 Harvard 3 2 Cal State Fullerton 11 1 LSU 14 — 2 Cal State Fullerton 3 — West Regional at Stanford, CA 2 May 21 May 22–23 May 23 May 24 May 24 1 1998 Stanford Cardinal Stanford 2 6 1998 Loyola Marymount Lions Loyola Marymount 6 2 1998 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama 8 5 1998 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota 2 3 1998 Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State 3 4 1998 NC State Wolfpack NC State 12 6 Loyola Marymount 9 3 Long Beach State 19 1 Stanford 19 5 Minnesota 1 2 Alabama 10 4 NC State 13 2 Alabama 13 6 Loyola Marymount 5 3 Long Beach State 5 1 Stanford 1 4 NC State 2 2 Alabama 9 3 Long Beach State 10 4 NC State 6 3 Long Beach State 5 2 Alabama 3 College World Series The 1998 CWS was infamous for producing several high-scoring games, which was termed by media covering the Series as "Gorilla Ball" (or "Geaux-rilla Ball" among LSU fans), which placed a premium on home runs. LSU, which won the 1996 and 1997 national championships and set an NCAA record in 1997 by hitting 188 home runs, hit eight home runs in its first game (by seven different players) vs. USC, and added six more in its second game vs. Mississippi State to bring its season total to 157. Needing one victory to advance to the championship game for the third consecutive year, LSU fell twice to USC, hitting just one home run in 18 innings. USC and Pac-10 rival Arizona St. set numerous offensive records in the championship game, won by the Trojans 21–14. Prior to the 1999 season, the NCAA adopted restrictions on aluminum bats, requiring the difference between the length and weight ("drop") of the bat to be no more than three (e.g. a 34-inch bat could not weigh less than 31 ounces). This reduced home run output slightly, but it was not until more sweeping changes in 2011 before aluminum bats would perform more like their wood counterparts. Participants Seeding School Conference Record (conference) Head coach CWS appearances CWS best finish CWS record 1 Florida SEC 46–16 (21–8) Andy Lopez 3(last: 1996) 3rd(1991) 5–6 2 Miami (FL) n/a 50–10 (n/a) Jim Morris 16(last: 1997) 1st(1982, 1985) 34–28 3 Florida State ACC 53–18 (18–4) Mike Martin 15(last: 1996) 2nd(1970, 1986) 19–30 4 Southern California Pac-10 44–16 (21–9) Mike Gillespie 18(last: 1995) 1st(1948, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978) 67–21 5 LSU SEC 46–17 (21–9) Skip Bertman 9(last: 1997) 1st(1991, 1993, 1996, 1997) 23–11 6 Arizona State Pac-10 38–22 (18–11) Pat Murphy 17(last: 1994) 1st(1965, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1981) 52–29 7 1998 Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State Big West 42–21–1 (23–7) Dave Snow 3(last: 1993) 3rd(1993) 4–6 8 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State SEC 41–21 (14–15) Pat McMahon 6(last: 1997) 3rd(1985) 6–12 Results Bracket 1/1/2/1 1 Florida 13 8 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State 14 4 Southern California 10 5 LSU 12 1 Florida 10 4 Southern California 1211 2 Miami (FL) 3 7 1998 Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State 1 3 Florida State 10 6 Arizona State 11 7 Long Beach State 7 3 Florida State 4 8 Mississippi State 8 5 LSU 10 8 Mississippi State 1 4 Southern California 7 2 Miami (FL) 2 6 Arizona State 9 2 Miami (FL) 3 7 Long Beach State 6 5 LSU 4 3 4 Southern California 5 7 6 Arizona State 14 — 7 Long Beach State 4 — 4 Southern California 21 6 Arizona State 14 Game results Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes May 29 Game 1 Arizona State 11–10 Florida State Game 2 Miami (FL) 3–1 1998 Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State May 30 Game 3 LSU 12–10 Southern California Game 4 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State 14–13 Florida May 31 Game 5 Arizona State 9–2 Miami (FL) Game 6 1998 Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State 7–4 Florida State Florida State eliminated June 1 Game 7 LSU 10–8 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Game 8 Southern California 12 – 10 (11 innings) Florida Florida eliminated June 2 Game 9 1998 Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State 6–3 Miami (FL) Miami (FL) eliminated Game 10 Southern California 7–1 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Mississippi State eliminated June 3 Game 11 Arizona State 14–4 1998 Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State Long Beach State eliminated June 4 Game 12 Southern California 5–4 LSU June 5 Game 13 Southern California 7–3 LSU LSU eliminated June 6 Final Southern California 21–14 Arizona State Southern California wins CWS All-Tournament Team The following players were members of the College World Series All-Tournament Team. Position Player School P Jack Krawczyk USC Alex Santos Miami (FL) C Eric Munson USC 1B Robb Gorr USC 2B Wes Rachels (MOP) USC 3B Andrew Beinbrink Arizona State SS Michael Collins Arizona State OF Rudy Arguellas Arizona State Cedrick Harris LSU Brad Ticehurst USC DH Jason Lane USC Notable players Arizona State: Andrew Beinbrink, Willie Bloomquist, Ryan Mills Florida: Mark Ellis, Josh Fogg, David Ross, Brad Wilkerson Florida State: Kevin Cash Long Beach State: Mike Gallo LSU: Kurt Ainsworth, Randy Keisler Miami (FL): Pat Burrell, Bobby Hill, Aubrey Huff, Jason Michaels Mississippi State: Matt Ginter Southern California: Morgan Ensberg, Seth Etherton, Jason Lane, Eric Munson See also 1998 NCAA Division I softball tournament 1998 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 1998 NCAA Division III baseball tournament 1998 NAIA World Series References Category:NCAA Division I baseball tournament NCAA Division I Baseball Championship