1998 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament

The 1998 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, CT. This was the fourteenth annual Big East Conference Baseball Tournament. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights won their first tournament championship and claimed the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Rutgers joined the Big East prior to the 1996 season.[3]

1998 Big East Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	6
Format	Double-elimination tournament
Finals site	Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium Norwich, Connecticut
Champions	Rutgers (1st title)
Winning coach	Fred Hill (1st title)
MVP	Dave Marciniak, Rutgers

1998 Big East Conference baseball standings
	Conf									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
No. 30 Rutgers  ‍†‍‡‍^y	17	–	3	–	0		.850			33	–	16	–	0		.673
Notre Dame  ‍‍‍	15	–	4	–	0		.789			41	–	17	–	0		.707
St. John's  ‍‍‍	14	–	7	–	0		.667			28	–	17	–	1		.620
Providence  ‍‍‍	14	–	8	–	1		.630			31	–	22	–	1		.583
West Virginia  ‍‍‍	13	–	9	–	0		.591			37	–	17	–	1		.682
Seton Hall  ‍‍‍	12	–	10	–	0		.545			25	–	23	–	0		.521
Connecticut  ‍‍‍	12	–	11	–	0		.522			25	–	17	–	0		.595
Villanova  ‍‍‍	6	–	15	–	0		.286			26	–	21	–	1		.552
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍	5	–	16	–	0		.238			12	–	27	–	1		.313
Boston College  ‍‍‍	4	–	15	–	1		.225			17	–	23	–	1		.427
Georgetown  ‍‍‍	5	–	19	–	0		.208			22	–	34	–	0		.393
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998[1][2]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Format and seeding

The Big East baseball tournament was a 6 team double elimination tournament in 1998. The top six regular season finishers were seeded one through six based on conference winning percentage only. The division used the previous two seasons were discontinued, with all 11 teams competing in a single division.[3]

Team	W	L	T	Pct.	GB	Seed
Rutgers	17	3	0	.850	–	1
Notre Dame	15	4	0	.789	1.5	2
St. John's	14	7	0	.667	3.5	3
Providence	14	8	1	.630	5	4
West Virginia	13	9	0	.591	5	5
Seton Hall	12	10	0	.545	6	6
Connecticut	12	11	0	.522	6.5	–
Villanova	6	15	0	.286	10	–
Pittsburgh	5	16	0	.238	11	–
Boston College	4	15	1	.225	11.5	–
Georgetown	5	19	0	.208	14	–

Bracket

	First round					Semifinals					Third Round					Semi-Finals					Finals
	1	Rutgers	9*
	6	Seton Hall	7*			1	Rutgers	2
						4	Providence	3
											4	Providence	10
											5	West Virginia	1			4	Providence	7
						5	West Virginia	7								2	Notre Dame	9
						6	Seton Hall	2
	2	Notre Dame	5																		2	Notre Dame	0
	5	West Virginia	4																		1	Rutgers	12
						2	Notre Dame	3
						3	St. John's	2
	3	St. John's	7								2	Notre Dame	6
	4	Providence	2								1	Rutgers	7
						1	Rutgers	14
						3	St. John's	10

* - Indicates game required 17 innings.[3]

Jack Kaiser Award

Dave Marciniak was the winner of the 1998 Jack Kaiser Award. Marciniak was a shortstop for Rutgers.[3]

Notes

• The Rutgers-Seton Hall 17 inning game was the longest in tournament history

References

1. 2012 Big East Baseball Media Guide. Big East Conference. p. 61. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
2. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1998". boydsworld.com. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
3. 2012 Big East Baseball Media Guide. Big East Conference. pp. 61–66. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.