1979 NCAA Division II baseball tournament

1979 NCAA Division II
baseball tournament
Season	1979
Finals site	Lanphier Park; Springfield, Illinois;
Champions	Valdosta State (1st title)
Runner-up	Florida Southern (5th CWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Tommy Thomas (1st title)
MOP	Frank DeGennaro (OF) (Valdosta State)
Attendance	12,815

The 1979 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 1979 NCAA Division II baseball season.^[1]

Valdosta State defeated defending champions Florida Southern in the championship game, 3–2, of the double-elimination tournament, capturing the Blazers' first national title. Valdosta State was coached by Tommy Thomas.

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 1979 Division II College World Series.^[2]

New England Regional

Team	Wins	Losses
New Haven	4	1
Quinnipiac	2	2
Springfield	1	2
UMass Lowell	0	2

Middle Atlantic Regional

Team	Wins	Losses
Le Moyne	3	0
California (PA)	2	2
UMBC	1	2
Shippensburg	0	2

South Atlantic Regiona

Team	Wins	Losses
Valdosta State	3	0
Columbus State	2	2
Rollins	1	2
West Georgia	0	2

South Regional

Team	Wins	Losses
Florida Southern	3	0
Eckerd	2	2
FIU	1	2
UCF	0	2

Great Lakes Regional

Team	Wins	Losses
Northern Kentucky	3	0
Bellarmine	2	2
Southern Indiana	1	2
Akron	0	2

North Central Regional

Team	Wins	Losses
Mankato State	3	0
UMSL	2	2
Southwest Missouri State	1	2
Northwest Missouri State	0	2

South Central Regional

Team	Wins	Losses
Jacksonville State	3	0
Delta State	2	2
Troy State	1	2
West Alabama	0	2

West Regional

Team	Wins	Losses
Cal Poly Pomona	3	0
UC Davis	2	2
Chapman	1	2
San Francisco State	0	2

Finals

Participants

School	Conference	Record (conference)	Head coach	Previous finals appearances	Best finals finish	Finals record
Cal Poly Pomona	CCAA	43–26–1 (16–8)	John Scolinos	1 (last: 1976)	1st	4–1
Florida Southern	Sunshine State	40–12 (10–5)	Joe Arnold	7 (last: 1978)	1st	17–10
Jacksonville State	Gulf South	43–7 (7–5)	Rudy Abbott	1 (last: 1973)	6th	0–2
Le Moyne	Independent	31–8	Dick Rockwell	1 (last: 1978)	7th	0–2
Mankato State	Northern Intercollegiate	26–11–1 (14–4)	Dean Bowyer	1 (last: 1971)	4th	0–2
New Haven	Independent	29–11	Frank Vieira	3 (last: 1978)	3rd	6–6
Northern Kentucky	Independent	36–15	Bill Aker	0 (last: none)	None	0–0
Valdosta State	SAC	47–14–1 (8–4)	Tommy Thomas	3 (last: 1978)	3rd	4–6

Results

Bracket


First Round		Second Round		Third Round		Semifinals		Elimination final		Championship



Le Moyne	6

Mankato State	2
		Le Moyne	3

		Florida Southern	15
Cal Poly Pomona	3

Florida Southern	4¹³
				Florida Southern	4

				New Haven	3
Jacksonville State	4
						Florida Southern	3
Valdosta State	15
		Valdosta State	3			Valdosta State	11

		New Haven	4
New Haven	6

Northern Kentucky	3									Florida Southern	2

								Valdosta State	8	Valdosta State	3

		Consolation First Round		Consolation Second Round				Le Moyne	3



				Le Moyne	7

		Jacksonville State	9	Jacksonville State	0
						New Haven	2
		Northern Kentucky	8
						Le Moyne	3
				Valdosta State	6

		Mankato State	4	Cal Poly Pomona	3

		Cal Poly Pomona	10

Game Results

Date	Game	Winner	Score	Loser	Notes
May 24	Game 1	Le Moyne	6–2	Mankato State
May 24	Game 2	Florida Southern	4–3 ¹³	Cal Poly Pomona
May 25	Game 3	Valdosta State	15–4	Jacksonville State
May 25	Game 4	New Haven	6–3	Northern Kentucky
May 26	Game 5	Florida Southern	15–3	Le Moyne
May 27	Game 6	New Haven	4–3	Valdosta State
	Game 7	Cal Poly Pomona	10–4	Mankato State	Mankato State eliminated
	Game 8	Jacksonville State	9–8	Northern Kentucky	Northern Kentucky eliminated
May 28	Game 9	Florida Southern	4–3	New Haven
	Game 10	Valdosta State	6–3	Cal Poly Pomona	Cal Poly Pomona eliminated
	Game 11	Le Moyne	7–0	Jacksonville State	Jacksonville State eliminated
	Game 12	Valdosta State	11–3	Florida Southern
May 29	Game 13	Le Moyne	3–2	New Haven	New Haven eliminated
May 29	Game 14	Valdosta State	8–3	Le Moyne	Le Moyne eliminated
May 30	Game 15	Valdosta State	3–2	Florida Southern	Valdosta State 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 17, 2025.

[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 17, 2025.

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