1997 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament

The 1997 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, SC from April 30 through May 3. Top seeded Western Carolina won the tournament and earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. It was the Catamounts eighth tournament win. This was the first tournament to be held at Riley Park, which opened as the home venue of The Citadel for the 1997 season.

1997 Southern Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	8
Format	Double-elimination tournament
Finals site	Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park Charleston, South Carolina
Champions	Western Carolina (8th title)
MVP	J. P. Burnwell, Western Carolina
Attendance	15,295

1997 Southern Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Western Carolina  ‍†‍‡‍^y	18	–	6		.750			42	–	20		.677
Georgia Southern  ‍†‍‍	18	–	6		.750			34	–	26		.567
The Citadel  ‍‍‍	16	–	7		.696			37	–	21		.638
Furman  ‍‍‍	13	–	11		.542			29	–	23		.558
East Tennessee State  ‍‍‍	11	–	11		.500			21	–	24		.467
Davidson  ‍‍‍	8	–	15		.348			18	–	34		.346
Appalachian State  ‍‍‍	8	–	16		.333			16	–	32		.333
VMI  ‍‍‍	6	–	13		.316			13	–	35		.271
Marshall  ‍‍‍	4	–	17		.190			7	–	39		.152
† – Conference champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The tournament used a double-elimination format. Only the top eight teams participated, so Marshall was not in the field. This was Marshall's last season in the conference, as they joined the Mid-American Conference prior to the 1997–98 season.

Seeding

Team	W	L	Pct	GB	Seed
Western Carolina	18	6	.667	–	1
Georgia Southern	18	6	.667	–	2
The Citadel	16	7	.696	1.5	3
Furman	13	11	.542	5	4
East Tennessee State	11	11	.500	6	5
Davidson	8	15	.348	9.5	6
Appalachian State	8	16	.333	10	7
VMI	6	13	.316	10.5	8
Marshall	4	17	.190	12.5	–

[2]

Bracket

	Round 1					Round 2					Round 3					Round 4					Final
	Winner's Bracket
	4	Furman	6
	5	East Tennessee State	2
						4	Furman	1
						1	Western Carolina	7
	1	Western Carolina	4
	8	VMI	3
											1	Western Carolina	10
											3	The Citadel	3
	2	Georgia Southern	14
	7	Appalachian State	5
						2	Georgia Southern	5
						3	The Citadel	14
	3	The Citadel	18
	6	Davidson	8																		1	Western Carolina	10*
																					4	Furman	9*
	Loser's Bracket
	5	East Tennessee State	7*
	8	VMI	3*			3	Georgia Southern	14
						5	East Tennessee State	11
											3	Georgia Southern	10
	7	Appalachian State	7								4	Furman	12			3	The Citadel	2
	6	Davidson	5			4	Furman	13*								4	Furman	4
						7	Appalachian State	11*

* - Indicates extra innings.[3]

All-Tournament Team

Position	Player	School
P	David Noyce	Furman
C	J. P. Burwell	Western Carolina
1B	Ryan Butler	The Citadel
2B	Jeff Sziksai	Western Carolina
3B	Dan Martz	Furman
SS	Eric Boehmer	Furman
OF	Rodney Hancock	The Citadel
OF	Jody Wade	Furman
OF	Brandon Hollier	Furman
DH	Tyson Whitley	Georgia Southern

Walt Nadzak Award, Tournament Most Outstanding Player

J. P. Burwell

Western Carolina

[4]

References

1. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1997". Boyd's World. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
2. 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 47. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
3. 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 49. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
4. 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 62. Retrieved 2012-09-08.