1979 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
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) | 
| () | |
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 | ||||||||||||
| Navy | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 13 | |||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 15 | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 0 | |||||||||||||
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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Georgia Southern | 5 | |||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Clemson | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Georgia Southern | 0 | |||||||||||||
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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 6 | |||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 4 | |||||||||||||
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 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Indiana State | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 8 | |||||||||||||
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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Texas–Pan American | 5 | |||||||||||||
| BYU | 11 | |||||||||||||
| Lamar | 4 | |||||||||||||
| BYU | 7 | |||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||
| Tulane | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 12 | |||||||||||||
| New Orleans | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 13 | |||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 20 | |||||||||||||
| Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 12 | |||||||||||||
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 | 
Bracket
    
| First round | Second round | Third round | |||||||||||
| Winner's bracket | |||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 10 | ||||||||||||
| Arizona | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Arizona | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Texas | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Texas | 11 | ||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Texas | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 6 | ||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Loser's bracket | |||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 3 | Mississippi State | 4 | ||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 510 | ||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 8 | Arizona | 3 | ||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 16 | ||||||||||||
| Semifinals | Finals | if needed | |||||||||||
| Re-ordered Semifinals | |||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 10 | Cal State Fullerton | 2 | ||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 13 | Arkansas | 1 | ||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Texas | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 6 | ||||||||||||
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).
References
    
- "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 195. Retrieved August 24, 2014.