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)
MOP	Littleton Fowler (Oklahoma State)
← 1960  NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 1962 →

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
	Lower round 1					Lower final
						Connecticut		3
	Springfield		9			Springfield		1
	Colby		2

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.

	Upper round 1				Upper final				Final
					Duke	7
	Florida State	3			Florida State	2
	West Virginia	1
									Duke	7	—
					Lower final
									West Virginia	3	—
					Florida State	3
					West Virginia	4

District 4

Games played at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Upper round 1

Upper final

Final

Western Michigan

3

Detroit

1

Western Michigan

8

Cincinnati

1

Cincinnati

310

Michigan

1

Western Michigan

414

–

Michigan

3

–

Lower round 1

Lower final

Cincinnati

1

Detroit

3

Michigan

2

Michigan

610

District 5

Games played at Stillwater, Oklahoma.

	Finals
	Oklahoma State	10	11	—
	Northern Iowa	0	8	—

District 6

Games played at Austin, Texas.

	Finals
	Texas	8	5	—
	Arizona	2	4	—

District 7

Games played at Laramie, Wyoming.

	Upper round 1				Upper final				Final
					Air Force	10
	Wyoming	3			Wyoming	12
	Colorado State College	2
									Wyoming	12	1
					Lower final
									Colorado State College	16	12
					Air Force	6
					Colorado State College	10

District 8

	Semifinals Los Angeles, California						Finals Pullman, Washington
	Southern California	4	4	10
	Fresno State	1	6	6
							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[a]	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	Independent	16–3	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

Results

Bracket

	Upper round 1					Upper round 2					Upper final					Semifinals					Final
	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
																Oklahoma State		8
	Western Michigan		2
						Boston College		3								Syracuse		0
						Southern California		10
	Southern California		8
	Texas		6
																					Oklahoma State		0
						Lower round 1					Lower round 2										Southern California		1
											Boston College		410
						Duke		15			Duke		3
																Southern California		4
						Colorado State College		3
																Boston College		3
											Syracuse		6
						Western Michigan		8			Western Michigan		0
						Texas		2

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	School
P	Littleton Fowler (MOP)	Oklahoma State
	Larry Hankhammer	USC
	Jim Withers	USC
C	Larry Himes	USC
1B	William Ryan	USC
2B	Bruce Andrew	Oklahoma State
3B	Dave Sarette	Syracuse
SS	Don Wallace	Oklahoma State
OF	Ron Davis	Duke
	Art Ersepke	USC
	Bill Tomb	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.

See also

• 1961 NAIA World Series