1981 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship
Tournament Statistics
Team Statistics
Marietta defeats Ithaca 14-12 in 12 innings in front of 1000 hometown fans
Marietta College avenges last years defeat to Ithaca College
Marietta, OH - Steve Riley capped a brilliant game by stroking a two-run single in the 12th inning as Marietta defeated Ithaca, 14-12, to capture the 1981 Division III Men's Baseball Championship in Marietta, Ohio. It was the Pioneers' first national title after finishing second twice and fourth once. The title game matched last year's final two teams. As in 1980, Marietta came into the game undefeated while Ithaca had already suffered one loss. But unlike last year, when the Bombers defeated Marietta twice to claim the title, the Pioneers settled the matter in one game.
Riley, normally a pitcher, was forced into action when the Pioneers' regular first baseman became ill after Marietta's second-round 12-6 win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Riley collected three singles before his late inning heroics. Riley lined a single through a drawn-in infield scoring Jon Shuler and Ken Lisko with the winning runs. Marietta had come back from a 7-1 deficit after three innings to tie the game, 12-12, in the eighth inning. The Pioneers then rode the shutout pitching of reliever Dale Hurst for the rest of the game.
John Schaly, the tournament MVP, was a perfect 4-4 with a double and three RBI in the championship game. With the game on the line, the hot hitting second baseman was walked intentionally with runnners on base in both the ninth and 11th innings. Schaly finished the tournament with a tournament leading .667 batting average.
This was the second time that Marietta had face Ithaca in the tournament. Marietta miraculously survived the first-round contest with a 6-5 victory where the Pioneers walked a record 19 batters.
Marietta placed five players on the all-tournament team - Hurst, third baseman Lisko, shortstop Shuler, second baseman John Schaly and catcher-designated hitter Tom Mohl. Ithaca's representatives on the select squad were catcher-designated hitter Steve DeMatties, left fielder Tom Pallister and first baseman-designated hitter Mark Fagan. Rounding out the all-tourney team were Wisconsin-Oshkosh's center fielder Phil Pelky and pitcher Craig Henderson and NC Wesleyan's right fielder Mike Jones. Schaly was named the most outstanding player.
1981 All Tournament Team
MVP - John Schaly, MariettaCatcher/Designated Hitter - Steve DeMatties, Ithaca; Tom Mohl, Marietta; First Base - Mark Fagan, Ithaca; Second Base - John Schaly, Marietta; Third Base - Ken Lisko, Marietta; Shortstop - Jon Shuler, Marietta; Outfield - Phil Pelky, Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Mike Jones, NC Wesleyan; Tom Pallister, Ithaca; Pitcher - Dale Hurst, Marietta; Craig Henderson, Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
1981 Tournament Results
Wisconsin-Oshkosh 13, NC Wesleyan 3
Marietta 12, Wisconsin-Oshkosh 6
Regional Playoff Results
Northeast Regional: Game 1: Ithaca 13, Westfield State 1; Game 2: Ramapo 6, Queens 2; Game 3: Eastern Conn State 8, Cortland State 5; Game 4: Westfield State 8, Queens 4; Game 5: Ithaca 18, Cortland State 3; Game 6: Eastern Conn State 1, Ramapo 0; Game 7: Ramapo 10, Westfield State 8; Game 8: Eastern Conn State 12, Ithaca 8; Game 9: Ithaca 11, Ramapo 3; Game 10: Ithaca 12, Eastern Conn State 1; Game 11: Ithaca 6, Eastern Conn State 5. Ithaca advances
Mideast Regional: Game 1: York 10, Marietta 7; Game 2: Wooster 6, Monmouth (Illinois) 1; Game 3: Alma 10, Ohio Northern 3; Game 4: Marietta 10, Monmouth (Illinois) 2; Game 5: York 13, Ohio Northern 9; Game 6: Alma 4, Wooster 6; Game 7: Marietta 13, Wooster 6; Game 8: Alma 7, York 3; Game 9: Marietta 7, York 1; Game 10: Marietta 8, Alma 5; Game 11: Marietta 17, Alma 6. Marietta advances
South Regional: Game 1: Salisbury State 2, Upsala 1; Game 2: NC Wesleyan 5, Trenton State 3; Game 3: Lynchburg 3, William Paterson 0; Game 4: Upsala 4, Trenton State 1; Game 5: William Paterson 14, Salisbury State 6; Game 6: NC Wesleyan 4 Lynchburg 3 (10); Game 7: Lynchburg 2, Salisbury State 1; Game 8: Upsala 8, William Paterson 2; Game 9: Lynchburg 7, NC Wesleyan 3; Game 10: NC Wesleyan 27, Upsala 9; Game 11: NC Wesleyan 3, Lynchburg 2. NC Wesleyan advances
West Regional: Game 1: Elmhurst 10, Buena Vista 6; Game 2: Wisconsin-Oshkosh 4, Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 1; Game 3: St. Olaf 5, Otterbein 2; Game 4: Otterbein 10, Buena Vista 7; Game 5: Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 10, Elmhurst 4; Game 6: Wisconsin-Oshkosh 10, St. Olaf 9; Game 7: Elmhurst 5, St. Olaf 4; Game 8: Otterbein 6, Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 5; Game 9: Wisconsin-Oshkosh 13, Elmhurst 7; Game 10: Wisconsin-Oshkosh 8, Otterbein 3. Wisconsin-Oshkosh advances