1980 Trans America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament

The 1980 Trans America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Luther Williams Field on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia from May 1 through 4. This was the second tournament championship held by the Trans America Athletic Conference, in its second year of existence. Georgia Southern won their first tournament championship. The Eagles earned a bid to the 1980 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, the first for the league.

1980 Trans America Athletic Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	5
Format	Double-elimination
Finals site	Luther Williams Field Macon, GA
Champions	Georgia Southern (1st title)
Winning coach	Jack Stallings (1st title)
MVP	,

1980 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Georgia Southern ‍‍‡‍^y	0	–	0		–			38	–	21		.644
Mercer ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			31	–	18		.633
Centenary ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			34	–	19		.642
Northeast Louisiana ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			20	–	15		.571
Hardin–Simmons ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			25	–	25		.500
Northwestern State ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			23	–	23		.500
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1980[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Format

The league again used a blind draw to determine matchups, and conference teams again played few games against each other prior to the tournament. The teams played a six team, double elimination tournament.[2][3]

Results

	First round					Semifinals					Semi-					Finals
		Northeast Louisiana	12*
		Northwestern State	9*				Northeast Louisiana	6
							Georgia Southern	8
												Georgia Southern	11
												Northwestern State	4
							Northwestern State	8
							Hardin–Simmons	2
		Centenary	4														Georgia Southern	5	15
		Georgia Southern	3														Mercer	4	1
							Centenary	3
							Mercer	12
		Mercer	8									Mercer	7
		Hardin–Simmons	3									Northeast Louisiana	0
							Northeast Louisiana	14
							Centenary	7

* - Indicates game required 12 innings.

All-Tournament Team

The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team. No MVP was named until 1985.[4]

POS	Player	School
P	Scott Barnhouse	Mercer
P	Carlos Colon	Georgia Southern
P	Ken Marks	Centenary
C	Marty Pevey	Georgia Southern
C	Frank Scelfo	Northeast Louisiana
2B	Doug Guelde	Northeast Louisiana
SS	Bob Laurie	Georgia Southern
3B	Derrell Baker	Georgia Southern
OF	David Klick	Northeast Louisiana
OF	Frank Millerd	Mercer
OF	Tim Smith	Mercer

References

1. Atlantic Sun Baseball Record Book (PDF). Atlantic Sun Conference. p. 3. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
2. Atlantic Sun Baseball Record Book (PDF). Atlantic Sun Conference. p. 2. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
3. "2013 Media Guide". Mercer Bears. p. 71. Archived from the original on 2013-09-26. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
4. Atlantic Sun Baseball Record Book (PDF). Atlantic Sun Conference. p. 21. Retrieved September 21, 2013.