1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference baseball tournament
| Teams | 4 |
|---|---|
| Format | Double-elimination |
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Northern Illinois (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Spanky McFarland (1st title) |
| MVP | Jason King (Northern Illinois) |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Butler | 14 | – | 7 | .667 | 26 | – | 21 | .553 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee | 13 | – | 8 | .619 | 23 | – | 26 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UIC | 12 | – | 10 | .545 | 23 | – | 26 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois ‡y | 12 | – | 10 | .545 | 27 | – | 30 | .474 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit | 12 | – | 10 | .545 | 22 | – | 18 | .550 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wright State | 10 | – | 12 | .455 | 20 | – | 28 | .417 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 4 | – | 20 | .167 | 15 | – | 37 | .288 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1996[1] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference baseball tournament took place in May 1996, near the close of the 1996 NCAA Division I baseball season. The top four finishers of the league's seven teams met in the double-elimination tournament held at Bush Stadium on the campus of Butler in Indianapolis. Second seeded Northern Illinois won their first Horizon League Championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[2]
Seeding and format
The league's teams are seeded one through four based on winning percentage, using conference games only. The top seed plays the fourth seed while the second seed plays the third seed in the opening round. Butler claimed the third seed and Northern Illinois the fourth seed over Detroit by tiebreker.[3]
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | 14 | 7 | .667 | — | 1 |
| Milwaukee | 13 | 8 | .619 | 1 | 2 |
| UIC | 12 | 10 | .545 | 2.5 | 3 |
| Northern Illinois | 12 | 10 | .545 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Detroit | 12 | 10 | .545 | 2.5 | — |
| Wright State | 10 | 12 | .455 | 4.5 | — |
| Cleveland State | 4 | 20 | .167 | 11.5 | — |
Bracket and results
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Butler | 11 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Northern Illinois | 15 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Northern Illinois | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | UIC | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | UIC | 8 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Milwaukee | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | UIC | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Northern Illinois | 1 | 7 | |||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Northern Illinois | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Butler | 5 | 2 | Milwaukee | 0 | |||||||||
| 2 | Milwaukee | 9 | ||||||||||||
All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[4]
| Pos | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| P | Paul Erschen | Northern Illinois |
| Jason Henry | UIC | |
| C | Clay Schwartz | Milwaukee |
| 1B | John Kravarik | UIC |
| 2B | Joe Waszak | UIC |
| 3B | Matt Buczkowski | Butler |
| SS | Mike O’Neill | Northern Illinois |
| OF | Gerad Gast | Northern Illinois |
| Jason King | Northern Illinois | |
| Jon Piazza | UIC | |
| DH | Tim Kuncis | Northern Illinois |
Most Valuable Player
Jason King of Northern Illinois was named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.[4]
References
- ↑ 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Horizon League. p. 144. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- ↑ "1998 Baseball Team". Butler Bulldogs. July 11, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- ↑ 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Horizon League. p. 6. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- 1 2 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Horizon League. p. 151. Retrieved March 26, 2026.