1978 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship
Tournament Statistics
Team Statistics
Glassboro State defeats Marietta 5-3 to win the 1978 Division III Baseball Championship at Marietta, Ohio.
Marietta forced a winner-take-all-game with a 11-10 win in Game 6
Marietta, OH -- A 5-3 decision in a showdown match with host institution Marietta College gave Glassboro State the 1978 National Collegiate Division III Baseball Championship, and gave the division only its second winner in the sport.
Stanislaus State had won the only two previous Division III tournaments, but this time the Warriors took two straight losses. Glassboro State and Marietta battled all the way through the championship. Glassboro State took wins over Stanislaus State and Ithaca and then lost the first match with Marietta. Marietta lost their opening game to Ithaca and then took a decision over Stanislaus State before winning the initial encounter with Glassboro State to advance to the title game.
In the title game, a combination of good hitting and good pitching helped Glassboro State to the win. Tournament MVP Bob Pfeffer picked up his second complete-game win in the finale, tossing a seven-hitter. The hitting was spread throughout the order with three players picking up two hits and all but two starters getting at least one. Dino Hall, Tom Peterson and Ralph Wendell each drove in one run for the Profs. Second baseman Jim Burton, who led the tournament in hits, RBIs, triples, home runs and stolen bases, picked up a pair of hits for Marietta; but it wasn't enough.
Burton, who batted .409, tied a Division III record by hitting two triples in Marietta's earlier win over Glassboro State. It was one of 11 records which were equaled or broken during the tournament. Pfeffer, Hall (1f) and Tom Peterson (1b) all were selected to the all-tournament team. Other Glassboro State selections were catcher Bob Holden and right fielder Tim Peterson. Marietta placed Greg Inselmann (dh), Abbey Gladstone (cf) and Pete Kelly (p) in addition to Burton. Other players selected were Ithaca's John Nicolo (ss) and Kurt Mahaney (3b) of Cal State Stanislaus.
1978 All Tournament Team
MVP - Bob Pfeffer, Glassboro StateCatcher - Bob Holden, Glassboro State; First Base - Tom Peterson, Glassboro State; Second Base - Jim Burton, Marietta; Third Base - Kurt Mahoney, Cal State Stanislaus; Shortstop - John Nicolo, Ithaca; Outfield - Abbey Gladstone, Marietta; Tim Peterson, Glassboro State; Dino Hall, Glassboro State; Designated Hitter - Greg Inselmann, Marietta; Pitcher - Bob Pfeffer, Glassboro State; Pete Kelly, Marietta.
1978 Tournament Results
Glassboro State 4, Cal State Stanislaus 3
Marietta 5, Cal State Stanislaus 4
Regional Playoff Results
Northeast Regional: Game 1: Brandeis 7, Rhode Island 5; Game 2: Ithaca 8, Westfield State 5; Game 3: Eastern Conn State 4, Pace 3; Game 4: Rhode Island 9, Westfield State; Game 5: Ithaca 9, Pace 6; Game 6: Eastern Conn State 8, Brandeis 4; Game 7: Ithaca 13, Eastern Conn State 10; Game 8: Brandeis 6, Rhode Island 5; Game 9: Brandeis 8, Eastern Conn State 6; Game 10: Ithaca 19, Brandeis 5. Ithaca advances
Mideast Regional: Game 1: Wilkes 7, DePauw 5; Game 2: Wooster 12, Widener 7; Game 3: Marietta 5, Juniata 2; Game 4: Widener 3, DePauw 2; Game 5: Wilkes 8, Juniata 2; Game 6: Marietta 12, Wooster 0; Game 7: Wooster 6, Widener 2; Game 8: Marietta 7, Wilkes 6; Game 9: Wooster 6, Wilkes 5; Game 10: Marietta 10, Wooster 1. Marietta advances
South Regional: Game 1: Lynchburg 4, Montclair State 4; Game 2: Salisbury State 10, Stillman 5; Game 3: Glassboro State 5, Upsala 3; Game 4: Montclair State 14, Stillman 1; Game 5: Lynchburg 2, Upsala 1; Game 6: Salisbury State 5, Glassboro State 4; Game 7: Glassboro State 10, Montclair 9; Game 8: Lynchburg 16, Salisbury State 4; Game 9: Glassboro State 8, Salisbury State 4; Game 10: Glassboro State 5, Lynchburg 4; Game 10: Glassboro State 5, Lynchburg 3. Glassboro State advances
West Regional: Game 1: Illinois Wesleyan 3, St. Olaf 2; Game 2: Cal State Stanislaus 3, Minnesota-Morris 2; Game 3: Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 9, Coe 8; Game 4: St. Olaf 5, Minnesota-Morris 4; Game 5: Cal State Stanislaus 12, Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 6; Game 6: Illinois Wesleyan 7, Coe 6; Game 7: Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 5, St. Olaf 2; Game 8: Cal State Stanislaus 6, Illinois Wesleyan 0; Game 9: Cal State Stanislaus 5, Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 3; Game 10: Illinois Wesleyan 14, Cal State Stanislaus 12; Game 11: Cal State Stanislaus 6, Illinois Wesleyan 3. Cal State Stanislaus advances