# 1997 Southern Conference baseball tournament

The 1997 Southern Conference baseball tournament was held at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park in Charleston, South Carolina, from April 30 through May 3. Top seeded Western Carolina won the tournament and earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. It was the Catamounts eighth tournament win. This was the first tournament to be held at Riley Park, which opened as the home venue of The Citadel for the 1997 season.
The tournament used a double-elimination format. Only the top eight teams participated, so Marshall was not in the field. This was Marshall's last season in the conference, as they joined the Mid-American Conference prior to the 1997–98 season.

## Seeding

| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Seed |
| Western Carolina | 18 | 6 | .667 | – | 1 |
| Georgia Southern | 18 | 6 | .667 | – | 2 |
| The Citadel | 16 | 7 | .696 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Furman | 13 | 11 | .542 | 5 | 4 |
| East Tennessee State | 11 | 11 | .500 | 6 | 5 |
| Davidson | 8 | 15 | .348 | 9.5 | 6 |
| Appalachian State | 8 | 16 | .333 | 10 | 7 |
| VMI | 6 | 13 | .316 | 10.5 | 8 |
| Marshall | 4 | 17 | .190 | 12.5 | – |

## Bracket

| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | | | | Final | Final | Final |
| 4 | Furman | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | East Tennessee State | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | East Tennessee State | 2 | 4 | Furman | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | Western Carolina | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Western Carolina | 4 | 1 | Western Carolina | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | VMI | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | VMI | 3 | | | | 1 | Western Carolina | 10 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | The Citadel | 3 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Georgia Southern | 14 | | | | 3 | The Citadel | 3 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Appalachian State | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Appalachian State | 5 | 2 | Georgia Southern | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | The Citadel | 14 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | The Citadel | 18 | 3 | The Citadel | 14 | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Davidson | 8 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Western Carolina | 10* |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Furman | 9* |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 3 | Lower round 3 | Lower round 3 | Lower final | Lower final | Lower final | |
| | | | 3 | Georgia Southern | 14 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | East Tennessee State | 7* | 5 | East Tennessee State | 11 | | | | 3 | The Citadel | 2 | |
| 8 | VMI | 3* | | | | 3 | Georgia Southern | 10 | 4 | Furman | 4 | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Furman | 12 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Furman | 13* | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Appalachian State | 7 | 7 | Appalachian State | 11* | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Davidson | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* - Indicates extra innings.

## All-Tournament Team

| Position | Player | School |
| P | David Noyce | Furman |
| C | J. P. Burwell | Western Carolina |
| 1B | Ryan Butler | The Citadel |
| 2B | Jeff Sziksai | Western Carolina |
| 3B | Dan Martz | Furman |
| SS | Eric Boehmer | Furman |
| OF | Rodney Hancock | The Citadel |
| OF | Jody Wade | Furman |
| OF | Brandon Hollier | Furman |
| DH | Tyson Whitley | Georgia Southern |
* Walt Nadzak Award, Tournament Most Outstanding Player
* J. P. Burwell
* Western Carolina