// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the 1997 Mid-Continent Conference baseball say? It was a ball-park figure.

1997 Mid-Continent Conference
baseball tournament

Teams	4
Format	Double-elimination
Finals site	Les Miller Field Chicago, Illinois
Champions	Troy State (2nd title)
Winning coach	John Mayotte (2nd title)
MVP	Bryan Kelly (Troy State)

1997 Mid-Continent Conference baseball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Troy State  x‍‍‡‍y	8	–	6		.571			36	–	24		.600
C.W. Post  ‍‍‍	8	–	7		.533			21	–	24		.467
NYIT  ‍‍‍	9	–	8		.529			21	–	25		.457
Pace  ‍‍‍	6	–	6		.500			19	–	18		.514
Central Connecticut  ‍‍‍	7	–	8		.467			20	–	16		.556
Youngstown State  ‍‍‍	8	–	11		.421			29	–	21		.580
West
Northeastern Illinois  x‍‍‍	16	–	7		.696			29	–	29		.500
Western Illinois  ‍‍‍	10	–	9		.526			13	–	24		.351
Chicago State  ‍‍‍	10	–	12		.455			14	–	35		.286
Valparaiso  ‍‍‍	6	–	24		.200			20	–	31		.392
‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 1997 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament took place from May 9 through 11. The top two regular season finishers of each of the league's two divisions met in the double-elimination tournament hosted by league member Northeastern Illinois in Chicago, Illinois. Troy State won the tournament for the second time.

Format and seeding

The top two teams from each division advanced to the tournament.

East Division Team W L Pct. GB Seed Troy State 8 6 .571 — 1E C.W. Post 8 7 .533 .5 2E NYIT 9 8 .529 .5 — Pace 6 6 .500 1 — Central Connecticut 7 8 .467 1.5 — Youngstown State 8 11 .421 2.5 —

West Division Team W L Pct. GB Seed Northeastern Illinois 16 7 .696 — 1W Western Illinois 10 9 .526 4 2W Chicago State 10 12 .455 5.5 — Valparaiso 6 24 .200 13.5 —

Tournament

Upper round 1

Upper final

Final

1E

Troy State

15

2W

Western Illinois

3

1E

Troy State

5

1W

Northeastern Illinois

2

1W

Northeastern Illinois

12

2E

C.W. Post

3

1E

Troy State

9

1W

Northeastern Illinois

3

Lower round 1

Lower final

1W

Northeastern Illinois

7

2W

Western Illinois

6

2E

C.W. Post

3

2E

C.W. Post

7

Game-by-game results

Game	Winner	Score	Loser	Comment
1	(1E) Troy State	15–3	(2W) Western Illinois
2	(1W) Northeastern Illinois	12–3	(2E) C.W. Post
3	(2E) C.W. Post	7–6	(2W) Western Illinois	Western Illinois eliminated
4	(1E) Troy State	5–2	(1W) Northeastern Illinois
5	(1W) Northeastern Illinois	7–3	(2E) C.W. Post	C.W. Post eliminated
6	(1E) Troy State	9–3(1W) Northeastern Illinois	Troy State wins Mid-Con Championship

All-Tournament Team

Name	School
Tom Blake	C.W. Post
Rhodney Donaldson	Troy
Dan Eide	Troy
John Fodrowski	C.W. Post
Brian Hantosh	Northeastern Illinois
Jim Jasper	Northeastern Illinois
Bryan Kelly	Troy State
Kenny Krey	Troy State
Chris Langford	Troy State
Brian Quinn	Western Illinois
Mark Raciti	Northeastern Illinois
Jorge Soto	Troy State

Tournament Most Valuable Player

Bryan Kelly of Troy State was named Tournament MVP.