| Year: | 1981 |
| Conference: | NAIA |
| Shortconference: | NAIA |
| Teams: | 10 |
| Format: | Double elimination |
| Ballpark: | Chaparral Stadium |
| City: | Lubbock, Texas |
| Champions: | Grand Canyon |
| Titlecount: | 2nd |
| Coach: | Gil Stafford |
| Coachcount: | Grand Canyon |
| Mvp: | Pete Bethea |
| Mvpteam: | Grand Canyon |
The 1981 NAIA World Series was a double-elimination tournament to determine the baseball champion of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The tournament was held at Chaparral Stadium on the campus of Lubbock Christian College in Lubbock, Texas, from June 2 through June 8. The Grand Canyon Antelopes won the tournament, the team's second consecutive NAIA baseball championship.[1]
| +1981 NAIA World Series participants | |||
| Team | Record | Head coach | Previous appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Hicks | None | ||
| Gil Stafford | 4 (1969, 1971, 1973, 1980) | ||
| None | |||
| Ken Dugan | 7 (1971, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) | ||
| Al Worthington | None | ||
| 38–38 | Larry Hays | 2 (1977, 1980) | |
| Mike Metheny | 3 (1978, 1979, 1980) | ||
| Hank Burbridge | None | ||
| Fred Flook | 7 (1957, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1980) | ||
| Horace Turbeville | None | ||
To be added
| +1981 NAIA World Series game results | |||||
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2[2] | Game 1 | 11–7 | |||
| Game 2 | 10–6 | ||||
| Game 3 | 4–3 | ||||
| Game 4 | 8–5 | ||||
| June 3 | Game 5 | Lipscomb | 6–3 | John Brown | John Brown eliminated |
| Game 6 | Spring Arbor | 6–1 | Lubbock Christian | Lubbock Christian eliminated | |
| Game 7 | Grand Canyon | 8–5 | |||
| June 3/4 | Game 8 | Liberty | 5–4 | ||
| Game 9 | Southeastern Oklahoma State | 7–5 | Spring Arbor | Spring Arbor eliminated | |
| Game 10 | Azusa Pacific | 7–4 | Lipscomb | Lipscomb eliminated | |
| Game 11 | Grand Canyon | 9–3 | William Jewell | ||
| Game 12 | Winthrop | 4–1 | Liberty | ||
| Game 13 | Southeastern Oklahoma State | 13–12 | William Jewell | William Jewell eliminated | |
| Game 14 | Azusa Pacific | 11–1 | Liberty | Liberty eliminated | |
| Game 15 | Grand Canyon | 9–2 | Winthrop | ||
| Game 16 | Winthrop | 11–10 | Southeastern Oklahoma State | Southeastern Oklahoma State eliminated | |
| Game 17 | Grand Canyon | 12–3 | Azusa Pacific | Azusa Pacific eliminated | |
| June 8 | Final | Grand Canyon | 12–4 | Winthrop | Grand Canyon win NAIA World Series |