1988 NCAA Division I baseball tournament


The 1988 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1988 NCAA Division I 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 forty-second year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The forty-second tournament's champion was [1988 1988 Stanford Cardinal baseball team|Stanford Cardinal baseball team|Stanford] coached by Mark Marquess. The Most Outstanding Player was Lee Plemel of Stanford.

Regionals

The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of a six-team field. Each regional tournament is double-elimination, however region brackets are variable depending on the number of teams remaining after each round. In 1988, for the first time, the NCAA seeded all six teams in each regional. The winners of each regional advanced to the College World Series.
Bold indicates winner.

College World Series

After 38 seasons as a full double-elimination tournament, the format changed for 1988. Teams were split into two four-team double-elimination brackets, with the winners of each bracket meeting in a one-game championship. This format was used through 2002.

Results

Of the 15 tournaments in which a single championship game was played, this was the only one where both teams entered the final with a loss.

Bracket


Game results

DateGameWinnerScoreLoserNotes
June 3Game 1[1988 Arizona State Sun Devils baseball|Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team|Arizona State]4–2
June 3Game 25–4
June 4Game 3Stanford10–3[1988 1988 Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team|Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team|Fresno State]
June 4Game 4[1988 Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball|Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball team|Cal State Fullerton]9–3Miami (FL)
June 5Game 56–5California eliminated
June 5Game 67–4Arizona State
June 6Game 7Miami (FL)8–4 [1988 Fresno State Bulldogs baseball|Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team|Fresno State]Fresno State eliminated
June 6Game 8Cal State Fullerton5–3Stanford
June 7Game 9Arizona State10–1Florida eliminated
June 7Game 10Stanford2–1Miami (FL)Miami eliminated
June 8Game 11Arizona State4–3
June 9Game 12Stanford3–1Cal State Fullerton
June 10Game 13Arizona State19–1Wichita State eliminated
June 10Game 14Stanford9–5Cal State FullertonCal State Fullerton eliminated
June 11FinalStanford9–4Arizona StateStanford wins CWS

All-Tournament Team

The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.
PositionPlayerSchool
PRusty KilgoArizona State
PLee Plemel Stanford
CDoug RobbinsStanford
1BRon WitmeyerStanford
2BMark StandifordWichita State
3BJohn FinnArizona State
SSPat ListachArizona State
OFRicky CandelariArizona State
OFHenrique HermanCal State Fullerton
OFDan RumseyArizona State
DHMartin PeraltaArizona State

Notable players

Arizona State: Kevin Higgins, Pat Listach, Blas Minor, Tim SpehrCal State Fullerton: Huck Flener, Brent MayneCalifornia: Jeff Kent, Darren LewisFlorida: Jamie McAndrew, Herb PerryFresno: Tom Goodwin, Steve Hosey, Erik Schullstrom, Eddie ZoskyMiami (FL): Joe Grahe, Kurt Knudsen, Oscar MúñozStanford: Paul Carey, Steve Chitren, Brian Johnson, Brian Keyser, Mike Mussina, Stan Spencer, Ed Sprague, Ron WitmeyerWichita State: Greg Brummett, P. J. Forbes, Dave Haas, Mike Lansing, Pat Meares, Eric Wedge

Tournament notes

  • Arizona State sets a new tournament record scoring 27 runs in their victory over UNLV surpassing the record set by Arizona in the 1986 tournament when they scored 26 runs.