1976 Wilkes baseball team celebrating 50th anniversary of D-III World Series appearance

WILKES-BARRE — As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, the Wilkes College 1976 baseball team will gather this weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their trip to the Division III World Series.

“It was a lot of work, but it’s truly been a labor of love,” said Earl Monk, who organized the reunion. “And now, we’re less than a week away.”

On Saturday, April 25, Monk said all players and coaches from this team who made a historic run to the D-3 College World Series will be honored.

Monk said the day will start at 2:30 p.m. with a ceremony at Bruggeworth Field — the new baseball complex on Northampton Street across from Artillery Park, where the Colonels played their home games for decades. Bruggeworth Field is part of the Ralston Athletic Complex.

Following the ceremony, Monk said the alums will get the chance to watch the current Colonels take on rival powerhouse Catholic University Cardinals in a Landmark Conference doubleheader slated for 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.

After the games, Monk said the alumni team members and coaching staff will catch up on fond memories and enjoy a celebration of dinner and drinks at Rodano’s on Public Square.

Planning the reunion

Monk said when he started putting the plan together for the 1976 baseball team reunion, he reached out to George Pawlush in December 2023 to discuss how the Wilkes Hall of Fame process works. Pawlush is a Wilkes grad and also worked in the administration.

“At the time, he told me that he would be writing an article about the 1976 team, the Division III World Series, and the era when Gene Domzalski was coaching,” Monk said. “He said that he had been talking to Lou ‘Pipes’ Elefante, our designated hitter, about the article. He said he could use my help tracking guys down. I then mentioned that the 50th anniversary would be coming up in 2026 and that maybe we could arrange a reunion.”

Monk said he started tracking down players in early 2024 — in some cases, Monk said he ended up talking to players. He asked each one he spoke to if they would be interested in a 50-year reunion — every one of them said they were very interested.

Monk continued searching for players in 2024 and also contacted the Wilkes alumni office about the reunion idea.

“They were supportive,” Monk said. “They also told me about a full Wilkes baseball alumni event scheduled for April 2025 — which about 10 players from the Coach Domzalski era ended up attending.”

The 1976 team featured many stellar performers, like Don McDermott, Jim Stehle, Tony Schwab, Dave Trethaway, Greg Snyder, Steve Leskiw, Jack Keller, Jim Michaels, Lou Elefante, Barry Harcharufka, Ken Suchoski, Steve Grasley, Bill Hockenbury, Andy Kresky, Dan Pisarcik, Dave Hungarter, and Mike Supczenski.

Those glory days 50 years ago

George Pawlush graduated from Wilkes in 1969 and also received his Master’s from Wilkes in 1976. He is listed as a Wilkes’ Trustee Emeritus. Pawlush has also authored several books and now lives in Connecticut.

Pawlush provided a story he wrote for the Wilkes University alumni magazine on the 1976 Colonels baseball team.

Pawlush agreed to let the Times Leader use excerpts from his story.

It began, “It was the top of the ninth inning. The Colonels trailed heavily-favored Mansfield State 5-3. The winner of this game, the second round of the 1976 NCAA Division III Regional Tournament, stood to be in a good position to advance to the championship finals.

“Under Head Coach Gene Domzalski MS ’71, the Colonels had already shocked national powerhouse Marietta College with a 6-3 win in the opening round. Now, they were down to their final out.

With one Colonel on base, it was do or die for John “Ken” Suchoski ’78. Suchoski hit a 400-foot drive over left field center to tie the score. Sophomore pitcher Manny Evans ’77 quieted Mansfield bats and sent the game into extra innings. Wilkes scored three times, including a two-run home run by Dave Hungarter ’79. The Colonels held off a Mansfield rally to win 8-6.”

Pawlush wrote that Wilkes beat Ashland (Ohio) 13-7 in the next game, becoming the lone undefeated team in the double-elimination tournament. After downing Ashland in the elimination bracket, Mansfield earned a rematch with Wilkes in the championship finals. To win the title, Mansfield would need to beat the Colonels twice.

Pawlush wrote, “Despite scoring four runs in the eighth inning, Wilkes came out on the losing end of a 7-6 contest in game four. The fifth game was winner-take-all. The resilient Colonels wasted little time proving they were the best, blasting four home runs to take a 6-0 lead in the first inning. They never looked back, shutting out Mansfield 11-0.”

In Pawlush’s story, nearly 50 years later, Domzalski called the win over Mansfield in the second game of the regionals the greatest victory in baseball history.

“We came of age with the win,” Domzalski said. “For many years, we knew we could compete with any Division III team in the nation, but it took the regional championship to convince national critics that our program had arrived.”

Pawlush wrote that with the Mideast Regional championship win, Wilkes earned a spot in the first NCAA Division III World Series in Marietta, Ohio, along with Ithaca College (New York), Montclair State College (New Jersey), and the eventual champion, Stanislaus State College from Turlock, California.

“Unfortunately, that’s where the Colonels’ winning streak ended,” Pawlush wrote. “Wilkes lost the series opener 2-1 to Montclair State, which came into the World Series as the top Division III team in the nation.”

But Pawlush said the World Series experience couldn’t diminish what the team had accomplished in 1976 — a regional title, 21-8 record, and the first 20-win season ever for Wilkes. The World Series marked the end of college careers for seniors Tony Schwab ’76, Steve Leskiw ’76, Dave Trethaway ’76, and Greg Snyder ’76, as well as the injured Keller.

Coach Domzalski

After he took over the program in 1970, Domzalski’s teams produced nine straight winning seasons. During the 1970s, he ranked among the top Division III winningest coaches in the nation with a 138-43 record. From 1976 to 1978, his final three squads combined for a 66-17 record and appeared in three Division III regional tournaments.

His college career was cut short when he signed a professional contract with the New York Yankees in 1958. Domzalski spent six years in the Yankees’ organization as a third baseman, batting consistently near .300.

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