1961 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament

The 1961 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1961 NCAA University Division 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 fifteenth year. Eight regional districts sent representatives to the College World Series with preliminary rounds within each district serving to determine each representative. These events would later become known as regionals. Each district had its own format for selecting teams, resulting in 25 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.[1] The College World Series was held in Omaha, NE from June 9 to June 14. The fifteenth tournament's champion was Southern California, coached by Rod Dedeaux. The Most Outstanding Player was Littleton Fowler of runner-up Oklahoma State.

1961 NCAA University Division
Baseball Tournament

Season	1961
Teams	25
Finals site	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium Omaha, NE
Champions	Southern California (3rd title)
Runner-up	Oklahoma State (5th CWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Rod Dedeaux (3rd title)
,

Tournament

District 1

Games played at Springfield, Massachusetts.

	First Round					Semi-Finals					Finals
		Boston College	11
		Springfield	8
							Boston College	4
							Connecticut	1
		Connecticut	15
		Colby	1
												Boston College	2	14
											Connecticut	3	4
		Springfield	9
		Colby	2
							Connecticut	3
							Springfield	1

District 2

Games played at Syracuse, New York.

	Semifinals					Finals
	St. John's		10
	Villanova		4
						Syracuse		12
						St. John's		5
	Syracuse		2
	Delaware		0

District 3

Games played at Gastonia, North Carolina.

	First round					Semifinals					Finals
							Duke	7
							Florida State	2
		Florida State	3
		West Virginia	1
												Duke	7	—
											West Virginia	3	—
							Florida State	3
							West Virginia	4

District 4

Games played at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

First round

Semifinals

Finals

Western Michigan

3

Detroit

1

Western Michigan

8

Cincinnati

1

Cincinnati

3^10

Michigan

1

Western Michigan

4^14

–

Michigan

3

–

Detroit

3

Michigan

6^10

Cincinnati

1

Michigan

2

District 5

Games played at Stillwater, Oklahoma.

		Oklahoma State	10	11	—
		Northern Iowa	0	8	—

District 6

Games played at Austin, Texas.

		Texas	8	5	—
		Arizona	2	4	—

District 7

Games played at Laramie, Wyoming.

	First round					Semifinals					Finals
							Air Force	10
							Wyoming	12
		Wyoming	3
		Colorado State College	2
												Wyoming	12	1
											Colorado State College	16	12
							Air Force	6
							Colorado State College	10

District 8

Games played at Los Angeles, California.

		Southern California	4	4	10
		Fresno State	1	6	6

Games played at Pullman, Washington.

		Southern California	13	10	—
		Washington State	6	4	—

College World Series

Participants

School	Conference	Record (Conference)	Head Coach	CWS Appearances	CWS Best Finish	CWS Record
Boston College	Independent	16–4	Ed Peligrini	2 (last: 1960)	4th (1953)	3–4
Colorado State College[lower-alpha 1]	RMC	28–6 (14–0)	Pete Butler	7 (last: 1960)	5th (1955)	2–14
Duke	ACC	15–9 (11–3)	Ace Parker	2 (last: 1953)	5th (1952, 1953)	2–4
Oklahoma State	Big 8	24–1 (18–1)	Toby Greene	4 (last: 1960)	1st (1959)	12–7
Syracuse		16–3 (n/a)	Ted Kleinhans	0 (last: none)	none	0–0
Texas	SWC	22–4–2 (11–3)	Bibb Falk	5 (last: 1957)	1st (1949, 1950)	14–7
Southern California	CIBA	31–7 (12–4)	Rod Dedeaux	6 (last: 1960)	1st (1948, 1958)	14–10
Western Michigan	MAC	18–6 (11–0)	Charlie Maher	4 (last: 1959)	2nd (1955)	8–8

Bracket

	First Round					Second Round					Third Round
	Winner's Bracket
		Oklahoma State	3
		Duke	2
							Oklahoma State	12
							Syracuse	9
		Syracuse	12
		Colorado State College	5
												Oklahoma State	2
												Southern California	4
		Boston College	3
		Western Michigan	2
							Boston College	3
							Southern California	10
		Southern California	8
		Texas	6
						Loser's Bracket
							Duke	15
							Colorado State College	3				Boston College	4^10
												Duke	3
							Western Michigan	8
							Texas	2				Syracuse	6
												Western Michigan	0

Semifinals

Finals

if needed

Re-ordered Semi-finals

Oklahoma State

8

Syracuse

0

Oklahoma State

0

Southern California

1

Southern California

4

Boston College

3

Game results

Date	Game	Winner	Score	Loser	Notes
June 9	Game 1	Oklahoma State	3–2	Duke
June 10	Game 2	Syracuse	12–5	Colorado State College
	Game 3	Boston College	3–2	Western Michigan
	Game 4	Southern California	8–6	Texas
June 11	Game 5	Duke	15–3	Colorado State College	Colorado State College eliminated
	Game 6	Western Michigan	8–2	Texas	Texas eliminated
	Game 7	Oklahoma State	12–9	Syracuse
	Game 8	Southern California	10–3	Boston College
June 12	Game 9	Boston College	4–3 (10 innings)	Duke	Duke eliminated
	Game 10	Syracuse	6–0	Western Michigan	Western Michigan eliminated
	Game 11	Southern California	4–2	Oklahoma State
June 13	Game 12	Oklahoma State	8–0	Syracuse	Syracuse eliminated
	Game 13	Southern California	4–3	Boston College	Boston College eliminated
June 14	Final	Southern California	1–0	Oklahoma State	Southern California wins CWS

All-Tournament Team

The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.

Position	Player	Class	School
Pitcher	Littleton Fowler	Sophomore	Oklahoma State
	Larry Hankhammer	Senior	Southern California
	Jim Withers	Senior	Southern California
Catcher	Larry Himes	Junior	Southern California
First baseman	William Ryan	Junior	Southern California
Second baseman	Bruce Andrew	Senior	Oklahoma State
Third baseman	Dave Sarette	Senior	Syracuse
Shortstop	Don Wallace	Junior	Oklahoma State
Outfielder	Ron Davis	Sophomore	Duke
	Art Ersepke	Senior	Southern California
	Bill Tomb	Sophomore	Western Michigan

Notable players

• Boston College:
• Duke: Ron Davis
• Colorado State College:
• Oklahoma State: Don Wallace
• Southern California: Dan Ardell, Mike Gillespie, Marcel Lachemann, Tom Satriano, Ron Stillwell, Wally Wolf
• Syracuse: Bill Connors, Dave Giusti
• Texas: Bill Bethea
• Western Michigan: Roger Theder, Frank Quilici

Notes

1. Colorado State College is currently known as the University of Northern Colorado. Not to be confused with Colorado State University, then known as Colorado A&M.

References

1. "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 192. Retrieved April 3, 2014.