1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team

1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball
Mid-American Conference champions
District IV champions
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record19–8 (11–0 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coachBill Chambers (1st season)
Home stadiumHyames Field
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Mid-American Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 5 Western Michigan  ‍‍‍y 11 0 0   1.000 19 8 0   .704
Kent State  ‍‍‍ 9 2 0   .818 12 7 0   .632
Ohio  ‍‍‍ 7 3 0   .700 13 6 0   .684
Miami (OH)  ‍‍‍ 3 6 0   .333 5 11 1   .324
Bowling Green  ‍‍‍ 2 7 0   .222 6 12 1   .342
Marshall  ‍‍‍ 2 8 0   .200 8 12 1   .405
Toledo  ‍‍‍ 1 9 0   .100 2 16 0   .111
† – Conference champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1961[1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team represented Western Michigan College in the 1961 NCAA University Division baseball season. The Broncos played their home games at Hyames Field. The team was coached by Charlie Maher in his 23rd year at Western Michigan.

The Broncos won the District IV playoff to advanced to the College World Series, where they were defeated by the Syracuse Orangemen.

Roster

[edit]
1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team
Players Coaches
# Pos. Name B/T Height Weight Year Home town
C Jerry Austry /
So Chicago, Illinois
Pat Bidelman /
Les Cochran /
Gene Cooley /
John Cruse /
C Charles Dodge /
Bill Donahue /
Al Erickson /
OF Mike Gatza /
So
Bob Hamet /
INF Bill Ihne /
Ray Larned /
P Ken Larsen /
INF Fred Michalski /
So
LHP Bill Ortlieb /L
Jr
Ken Palmateer /
INF Frank Quilici /
Sr
LHP Lee Salo /L 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Ken Scodeller /
Gary Seamon /
Paul Tagliola /
Roger Theder /
So
Bill Tomb /
LHP Gary Wallman /L
Sr
Head coach

Charlie Maher

Assistant coach(es)

Bill Chambers


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Current redshirt

Schedule

[edit]
1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball game log
Regular season
April (7–3)
# Date Opponent Site/stadium Score Overall record MAC record
1 April 1  vs Duke Seminole Field • Tallahassee, Florida 3–10 0–1
2 April 2  vs Florida Seminole Field • Tallahassee, Florida 6–7 0–2
3 April 4  at Florida State Seminole Field • Tallahassee, Florida 10–3 1–2
4 April 4  at Florida State Seminole Field • Tallahassee, Florida 6–7 1–3
5 April 7  at Toledo Unknown • Toledo, Ohio 14–2 2–3 1–0
6 April 8  at Toledo Unknown • Toledo, Ohio 2–0 3–3 2–0
7 April 14  Miami (OH) Hyames FieldKalamazoo, Michigan 15–0 4–3 3–0
8 April 15  Miami (OH) Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 11–8 5–3 4–0
9 April 21  Kent State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 4–1 6–3 5–0
10 April 29  at Notre Dame Cartier FieldNotre Dame, Indiana 7–4 7–3 5–0
May (8–3)
# Date Opponent Site/stadium Score Overall record MAC record
11 May 2  Ohio State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 10–6 8–3 5–0
12 May 2  Ohio State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 2–3 8–4 5–0
13 May 5  Ohio Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 4–1 9–4 6–0
14 May 6  Ohio Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 2–1 10–4 7–0
15 May 12  at Marshall Unknown • Huntington, West Virginia 13–4 11–4 8–0
16 May 13  at Marshall Unknown • Huntington, West Virginia 12–3 12–4 9–0
17 May 15  Wisconsin Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 8–10 12–5 9–0
18 May 16  Wisconsin Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 1–3 12–6 9–0
19 May 19  at Bowling Green Unknown • Bowling Green, Ohio 14–3 13–6 10–0
20 May 20  at Bowling Green Unknown • Bowling Green, Ohio 9–1 14–6 11–0
21 May 23  Michigan Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 7–5 15–6 11–0
Postseason
District IV Playoff (3–0)
# Date Opponent Site/stadium Score Overall record MAC record
22 May 29 vs Detroit Ray Fisher StadiumAnn Arbor, Michigan 3–1 16–6 11–0
23 May 31 vs Cincinnati Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan 8–1 17–6 11–0
24 June 3 at Michigan Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan 4–3 18–6 11–0
College World Series (1–2)
# Date Opponent Site/stadium Score Overall record MAC record
25 June 10 vs Boston College Omaha Municipal StadiumOmaha, Nebraska 2–3 18–7 11–0
26 June 11 vs Texas Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 8–2 19–7 11–0
27 June 12 vs Syracuse Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 0–6 19–8 11–0

Awards and honors

[edit]
Charles Dodge
  • First Team All-MAC
Mike Gatza
  • Second Team All-MAC
Bill Ihne
  • First Team All-MAC
Ken Larsen
  • Second Team All-MAC
Bill Ortlieb
  • First Team All-MAC
Frank Quilici

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1961". Boyds World. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  2. ^ "Mid-American Conference Award Winners". www.wmubroncos.com. Western Michigan University. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  3. ^ "All-Americans and All-Region Honoreess". www.wmubroncos.com. Western Michigan University. Retrieved November 25, 2020.