The 1981 NCAA Division III baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1981 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the sixth national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with four teams competing at Pioneer Park in Marietta, Ohio, for the championship. Four regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with all four regions consisting of six teams, for a total of 24 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was , who defeated for the championship.
Bids The 24 competing teams were: School Nickname Location ConferenceTournamentappearanceLastappearance Consecutivetournamentappearances Previous bestperformance Alma College Scots Alma, MI Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association 2nd 1980 2 Regional Fifth Place (1980) Buena Vista College Beavers Storm Lake, IA Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 2nd 1980 2 Regional Third Place (1980) Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Stags Claremont, CA Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 3rd 1979 1 Regional Runner-Up (1979) Eastern Connecticut State College Warriors Willimantic, CT Independent 6th 1980 6 Regional Runner-Up (1979) Elmhurst College Blue Jays Elmhurst, IL College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin 2nd 1980 2 Regional Fourth place (1980) Ithaca College Bombers Ithaca, NY Inedependent College Athletic Conference 6th 1980 6 National Champion (1980) Marietta College Pioneers Marietta, OH Ohio Athletic Conference 6th 1980 6 World Series Runner-Up (1978, 1980) Monmouth College Fighting Scots Monmouth, IL Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference 2nd 1976 1 Regional Runner-Up (1976) North Carolina Wesleyan College Battling Bishops Rocky Mount, NC Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1st Debut 1 Debut Ohio Northern University Polar Bears Ada, OH Ohio Athletic Conference 3rd 1980 2 Regional third place (1980) Otterbein College Cardinals Westerville, OH Ohio Athletic Conference 1st Debut 1 Debut Queens College Knights New York City, NY (Queens) Independent 2nd 1976 1 Regional Fourth place (1976) Ramapo College of New Jersey Roadrunners Mahwah, NJ New Jersey State Athletic Conference 2nd 1980 2 Regional third place (1980) Salisbury State College Sea Gulls Salisbury, MD Independent 4th 1980 2 Regional Runner-Up (1980) St. Olaf College Oles Northfield, MN Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 5th 1980 5 Regional third place (1977, 1979) State University of New York College at Cortland Red Dragons Cortland, NY State University of New York Athletic Conference 1st Debut 1 Debut The College of Wooster Fighting Scots Wooster, OH Ohio Athletic Conference 5th 1980 5 Regional Runner-Up (1978, 1979, 1980) Lynchburg College Hornets Lynchburg, VA Old Dominion Athletic Conference 6th 1980 6 Regional Runner-Up (1977, 1978) Upsala College Vikings East Orange, NJ Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Conference 5th 1980 4 World Series Third place (1980) Westfield State College Owls Westfield, MA Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference 5th 1980 1 Regional Runner-Up (1977) William Paterson University of New Jersey Pioneers Wayne Township, NJ New Jersey State Athletic Conference 2nd 1977 1 Regional Fourth place (1977) University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans Oshkosh, WI Wisconsin State University Conference 3rd 1980 3 World Series Fourth place (1980) York College of Pennsylvania Spartans York, PA Independent 2nd 1977 1 Regional Fifth place (1977)
Regionals
West Regional Wisconsin-Oshkosh (4–0), Elmhurst (2–2), Otterbein (2–2), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1–2), St. Olaf (1–2), Buena Vista (0–2)
South Regional North Carolina Wesleyan (4–1), Lynchburg (3–2), Ramapo (2–2), Upsala (2–2), William Paterson (1–2), Salisbury State (1–2) Records as listed on Baseball Reference. Either William Paterson or Salisbury State would have to have been 0–2 instead of 1–2 and either Ramapo or Upsala would have to have been 1–2 instead of 2-2.
Mideast Regional Ada, OH (Host: Ohio Northern University)
Marietta (5–1), Alma (3–2), York (PA) (2–2), Wooster (1–2), Monmouth (IL) (0–2), Ohio Northern (0–2)
Northeast Regional Willimantic, CT (Host: Eastern Connecticut State College)
Ithaca (5–1), Eastern Connecticut State (3–2), unknown (2–2), Westfield State (1–2), Queens (0–2), SUNY Cortland (0–2)
World Series
Participants School Nickname Location ConferenceWorld SeriesappearanceLastappearance ConsecutiveWorld Seriesappearances Previous bestperformance Marietta College Pioneers Marietta, OH Ohio Athletic Conference 4th 1980 2 Runner-Up (1978, 1980) Ithaca College Bombers Ithaca, NY Inedependent College Athletic Conference 4th 1980 2 National Champion (1980) University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans Oshkosh, WI Wisconsin State University Conference 2nd 1980 2 Fourth place (1980) North Carolina Wesleyan College Battling Bishops Rocky Mount, NC Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1st Debut 1 Debut
Bracket Pioneer Park-Marietta, OH (Host: Marietta College)
See also 1981 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 1981 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 1981 NAIA World Series
References