A look back: Scranton starts baseball with 1981 team

by Mar Tsakonas

Penn State Scranton Athletics was built on tradition and pride throughout the last 50 years. One staple in the history of athletics on campus is current Athletic Director and faculty member, former student-athlete and coach, Jeff Mallas. On this throwback Thursday, Mr. Mallas, who has been a member of the PSU Scranton family for over 40 years, gives us a look back at the 1981 baseball team, the first team in program history.

In 1981, the seventh athletic program in the Dunmore campus' history, baseball, was established by Joe Simoncelli with the assistance of newly named Head Coach, Jeff Mallas. Not only does Coach Mallas often look back at his years coaching on the diamond but he recounts assisting in the construction of the first baseball field on campus.

"I helped cut out the infield on the first baseball field we had on campus," Mallas recounts.  30 years later, Mallas would be instrumental in the renovation of that same field into a baseball and softball complex in 2014.

Being a new program, the team's first season consisted of just nine games. The schedule featured the likes of Luzerne County Community College, Keystone Junior College and Lackawanna Junior College. Other notable teams on the schedule were Penn State Ogontz, now Abington, Penn State Berks and other Penn State Commonwealth campuses. Hilldale Baseball Park, now home to Penn State Wilkes-Barre baseball, was the host site for the inaugural game when Coach Mallas and his roster of local talent took the field for the first time to take on Luzerne County Community College.

The local talent that fueled this team spanned over the area. There was Mike Rzucidlo, a current PSU Scranton staff member and former first-baseman from Scranton Prep, former co-captains, Dave Rubino, outfielder and right-handed pitcher from Dunmore and Dwayne Broad, also an outfielder and right-handed pitcher from Mid Valley. The roster also saw talent from North Pocono in third baseman, Kevin Stepinski and outfielder, Chris Tarietski and Pittston Area outfielder, Marty Durkin. Shortstop, Kevin Yanul from Scranton Central and southpaw, from Scranton Tech, Jerry Calpin were also featured in the lineup.

Coach Mallas says one game he remembers from that first season is when the team traveled to Schautz Memorial Stadium in Dunmore to play the University of Scranton JV team and after leading through the first six innings they fell short by one run. Although they lost that game, Penn State Scranton recorded the first win in program history in the last game of the season against Penn State Ogontz on the arm of lefty hurler Jerry Caplin.

The upcoming season will mark 40 years of baseball at Penn State Scranton thanks to the 1981 baseball team.