1997 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament

The 1997 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament was held from May 14 to 17, 1997[2] to determine the champion of the Southland Conference in the sport of college baseball for the 1997 season. The event pitted the top six finishers from the conference's regular season in a double-elimination tournament held at Warhawk Field, home field of Northeast Louisiana in Monroe, Louisiana. Second-seeded Southwest Texas State won their first championship and claimed the automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.[3]

1997 Southland Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	6
Format	Double-elimination
Finals site	Warhawk Field Monroe, Louisiana
Champions	Southwest Texas State (1st title)
Winning coach	Howard Bushong (1st title)
MVP	Jeremy Fikac, Southwest Texas State

1997 Southland Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Louisiana
Northwestern State  ^x‍‍‍	19	–	9	–	0		.679			35	–	22	–	0		.614
Northeast Louisianae  ‍‍‍	17	–	11	–	0		.607			33	–	21	–	0		.611
McNeese State  ‍‍‍	11	–	19	–	0		.367			19	–	31	–	1		.382
Nicholls State  ‍‍‍	9	–	19	–	0		.321			19	–	35	–	0		.352
Texas
Southwest Texas State  ^x‍‍‡‍^y	18	–	11	–	0		.621			38	–	26	–	0		.594
Sam Houston State  ‍‍‍	17	–	11	–	0		.607			36	–	27	–	0		.571
Texas–Arlington  ‍‍‍	12	–	17	–	0		.414			22	–	35	–	0		.386
Texas–San Antonio  ‍‍‍	12	–	18	–	0		.400			20	–	36	–	0		.357
x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Seeding and format

The top six finishers from the regular season were seeded one through six. They played a double-elimination tournament.

Team W L T Pct Seed Louisiana Division Northwestern State 19 9 .679 — 1 Northeast Louisiana 17 11 .607 2 4 McNeese State 11 19 .367 9 — Nicholls State 9 19 .321 10 —

Team W L T Pct Seed Texas Division Southwest Texas State 18 11 .621 — 2 Sam Houston State 17 11 .607 .5 3 Texas–Arlington 12 17 .414 6 5 UTSA 12 18 .400 6.5 6

Bracket and results

	First round					Second round					Third round					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Northwestern State	3
	6	UTSA	5			6	UTSA	5
						4	Northeast Louisiana	3
	3	Sam Houston State	9								6	UTSA	3
	4	Northeast Louisiana	8								3	Sam Houston State	2
						3	Sam Houston State	12													6	UTSA	2	7
						5	Texas–Arlington	3													2	Southwest Texas State	8	9
	2	Southwest Texas State	10													3	Sam Houston State	4
	5	Texas–Arlington	11								5	Texas–Arlington	1			2	Southwest Texas State	16
						1	Northwestern State	3			2	Southwest Texas State	14
						2	Southwest Texas State	12

All-Tournament Team

The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[3]

Pos.	Name	School
P	David Balcer	Northwestern State
	Jeremy Fikac	Southwest Texas State
C	Chad Spear	Southwest Texas State
1B	Ron Thames	Sam Houston State
2B	Brad Prihoda	Sam Houston State
3B	Brad Eubank	Southwest Texas State
SS	Tim Linville	Texas–Arlington
OF	Sean Alvarez	UTSA
	Matt Schnabel	Southwest Texas State
	Colin Wissen	Southwest Texas State
DH	Tony Gee	UTSA

Most Valuable Player

Jeremy Fikac was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Fikac was a pitcher for Southwest Texas State.[3]

References

1. "2018 Southland Conference Baseball" (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 15. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
2. 2018 Baseball Media Guide (PDF). Northwestern State Demons. p. 44. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
3. 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 28. Retrieved January 6, 2019.