1998 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament
The 1998 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament took place in May 1998. The top three regular season finishers from each division met in the double-elimination tournament held at Warren E. Steller Field on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. This was the tenth Mid-American Conference postseason tournament to determine a champion. The top seed from the east, Bowling Green, won their first tournament championship to earn the conference's automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[2][3]
| Teams | 6 |
|---|---|
| Format | Double-elimination |
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Bowling Green (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Danny Schmitz (1st title) |
| MVP | Bob Niemet (Bowling Green) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green x‡y | 17 | – | 10 | – | 0 | .630 | 34 | – | 21 | – | 0 | .618 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 17 | – | 12 | – | 0 | .586 | 27 | – | 28 | – | 0 | .491 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami | 17 | – | 13 | – | 0 | .567 | 33 | – | 26 | – | 0 | .559 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 13 | – | 17 | – | 0 | .433 | 31 | – | 24 | – | 0 | .564 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron | 10 | – | 18 | – | 0 | .357 | 20 | – | 31 | – | 0 | .392 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marshall | 9 | – | 21 | – | 0 | .300 | 18 | – | 35 | – | 0 | .340 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ball State x | 23 | – | 8 | – | 0 | .742 | 39 | – | 18 | – | 0 | .684 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 23 | – | 9 | – | 0 | .719 | 34 | – | 25 | – | 0 | .576 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Michigan | 16 | – | 16 | – | 0 | .500 | 26 | – | 29 | – | 0 | .473 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 14 | – | 16 | – | 0 | .467 | 27 | – | 27 | – | 0 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toledo | 13 | – | 17 | – | 0 | .433 | 20 | – | 32 | – | 0 | .385 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 8 | – | 23 | – | 0 | .258 | 10 | – | 30 | – | 1 | .256 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1998[1] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seeding and format
editThe top three finishers in each division, based on conference winning percentage only, participated in the tournament. The top seed in each division played the third seed from the opposite division in the first round. The teams played double-elimination tournament. With the addition of Marshall and return of Northern Illinois to the league, the conference divided again into East and West Divisions and expanded the tournament field to six. All previous tournaments consisted of four participating teams.
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Division | |||||
| Bowling Green | 17 | 10 | .630 | – |
1E
|
| Kent State | 17 | 12 | .586 | 1 |
2E
|
| Miami | 17 | 13 | .567 | 1.5 |
3E
|
| Ohio | 13 | 17 | .433 | 5.5 |
–
|
| Akron | 10 | 18 | .357 | 7.5 |
–
|
| Marshall | 9 | 21 | .300 | 9.5 |
–
|
| West Division | |||||
| Ball State | 23 | 8 | .742 | – |
1W
|
| Central Michigan | 23 | 9 | .719 | .5 |
2W
|
| Western Michigan | 16 | 16 | .500 | 7.5 |
3W
|
| Eastern Michigan | 14 | 16 | .467 | 8.5 |
–
|
| Toledo | 13 | 17 | .433 | 10.5 |
–
|
| Northern Illinois | 8 | 23 | .258 | 15 |
–
|
Results
edit| First round | Second round | Third round | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1E | Bowling Green | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3W | Western Michigan | 7 | 1E | Bowling Green | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3E | Kent State | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2W | Ball State | 4 | 1E | Bowling Green | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2E | Miami | 7 | 2E | Miami | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2E | Miami | 6 | 2E | Miami | 0 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1W | Central Michigan | 5 | 1E | Bowling Green | 6 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1W | Central Michigan | 8 | 1E | Bowling Green | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3E | Kent State | 0 | 1W | Central Michigan | 3 | 3W | Western Michigan | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3W | Western Michigan | 3 | 3W | Western Michigan | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2W | Ball State | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
All-Tournament Team
editThe following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[4]
| Name | School |
|---|---|
| Jason Kelley | Bowling Green |
| Ben Everside | Miami |
| Jay Harrington | Bowling Green |
| John Lackaff | Miami |
| Bob Niemet | Bowling Green |
| Drew Niles | Bowling Green |
| Kris Gundrum | Western Michigan |
| Matt Mlynarek | Bowling Green |
| John Sullivan | Miami |
| Alan Gilhousen | Bowling Green |
Most Valuable Player
editBob Niemet won the Tournament Most Valuable Player award. Niemet played for Bowling Green.[4]
References
edit- ^ "All-time Standings" (PDF). Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- ^ "Mid-American Conference Tournament History" (PDF). Mid-American Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- ^ 2012 Record Book (PDF). Miami RedHawks. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- ^ a b "All-Tournament Teams & Tournament MVP's" (PDF). Mid-American Sports. Retrieved May 17, 2013.