1989 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament

The 1989 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament was held in Asheville, North Carolina from April 27 through April 29. The South Division's top seed Western Carolina won their fifth consecutive tournament and earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the 1989 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Western Carolina claimed its fifth tournament title of the first six in modern SoCon history.

1989 Southern Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	7
Format	Double-elimination tournament
Finals site	Asheville, North Carolina
Champions	Western Carolina (5th title)
MVP	Paul Menhart, Western Carolina

1989 Southern Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Western Carolina  ‍†‍‡‍^y	10	–	5		.667			23	–	31		.426
Marshall  ‍‍‍	8	–	5		.615			16	–	14		.533
Appalachian State  ‍‍‍	9	–	7		.563			29	–	13		.690
VMI  ‍‍‍	8	–	7		.533			16	–	23		.410
The Citadel  ‍‍‍	8	–	9		.471			30	–	20		.600
Furman  ‍‍‍	5	–	10		.333			13	–	21		.382
East Tennessee State  ‍‍‍	5	–	10		.333			10	–	21		.323
† – Conference champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1989[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The tournament used a double-elimination format. Heavy rains forced the cancellation of the tournament after five games. A three team playoff was held in Montreat, North Carolina between Appalachian State, Marshall, and Western Carolina to determine the automatic qualifier in the NCAA Tournament.

Seeding

With Davidson's departure from the conference beginning with the 1989 season, the Southern Conference did away with the divisional structure for a seven-team league. All seven teams were in the tournament for the first time, with seeding based on conference winning percentage. Furman claimed more wins over East Tennessee State in the regular season, and were awarded the sixth seed.[2]

Team	W	L	Pct	GB	Seed
Western Carolina	10	5	.667	–	1
Marshall	8	5	.615	1	2
Appalachian State	9	7	.563	1.5	3
VMI	8	7	.533	2	4
The Citadel	8	9	.471	3	5
Furman	5	10	.333	5	6
East Tennessee	5	10	.333	5	7

Bracket

	First Round					Second Round					Third Round					Semifinals					Finals
	Winner's Bracket
						1	Western Carolina
						4	The Citadel
	4	VMI	11
	5	The Citadel	17
											3	Appalachian State
	2	Marshall	12
	7	East Tennessee	4
						2	Marshall	9
						3	Appalachian State	13
	3	Appalachian State	8
	6	Furman	2
	Loser's Bracket
	4	VMI	5
	6	Furman	7			7	East Tennessee
						6	Furman
						2	Marshall

Three team playoff at Montreat, NC

	Semifinal					Final
						1	Western Carolina	4
	1	Western Carolina	7			2	Marshall	2
	3	Appalachian State	2

[3]

Most Outstanding Player

Walt Nadzak Award, Tournament Most Outstanding Player

Paul Menhart

Western Carolina

[4]

References

1. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1989". Boyd's World. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
2. 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 46. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
3. 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 48. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
4. 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 63. Retrieved 2012-09-29.