The Penguin baseball program had its debut in time for the 1948 season, and it was head basketball coach Dom Rosselli who was instrumental in getting it off the ground.
The program stayed in existence for just three seasons (1948 to 1950), then took a hiatus from 1951-57 before returning on a full-time basis in time for the 1958 campaign, and it has been around ever since.
A philosopher once wrote "whoever wants to understand the mind and make-up of America, better learn baseball" and in the Mahoning Valley, both on the sandlots, scholastically and during intercollegiate competition, fans have been treated to some of the best games that could ever have been played.
The Penguins under Rosselli were one of the most feared programs around in those early years (he coached the Penguins from 1948 to 1985 before retiring), and the diamond sport has brought recognition beyond college on the professional level to such Penguin pitching greats as Don Leshnock, Steve Bartolin, Mike Glinatsis, Dave Dravecky, Bill Sattler and Jim Tinkey.
Both Leshnock and Dravecky made it to the major leagues while Bartolin, Glinatsis, Sattler and Tinkey had successful minor league careers.
But none of the aforementioned twirlers is at the top of any category in the all-time record book in career victories or earned-run average, and that dubious distinction belongs to tonight's inductee Dave Smercansky of Poland, one of two baseball players to be enshrined in the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame tonight.
A scholastic standout at nearby Poland Seminary High School, he played both basketball and football in addition to performing on the baseball team, serving as captain of the baseball squad in 1975 where he was an All-Mahoning Valley Conference selection. He tied or held no less than 15 pitching records upon graduation so when Rosselli secured the services of Smercansky for the next four seasons for the Penguins, he knew exactly what type of competitor he was getting.
The Penguins posted an 83-35 overall ledger during Smercansky's four seasons with the Penguins (they were 21-13 in 1976, 26-8 in 1977,159 in 1978 and 21-5 in 1979), winning 20-plus games on three separate occasions while the 1977 squad made it to the NCAA Division II playoffs when they played Wright State University at SIU-Edwardsville University.
At the time, the 26 wins in a season was the high water mark of any Penguin team and one of the reasons for that success was Smercansky who posted a 21-7 overall mark during that period (his 21 wins as a pitcher is the all-time record for a career) while his stingy 1.07 career earned run average is still the all-time mark. Opposing batters for four straight seasons found his fastball unhittable while his repertoire of pitches baffled opponents day in and day out
His career 750 winning percentage is third best on the all-time list to this day.
While a Penguin twirler, he caught the attention of scouts from the Minnesota Twins, Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles organizations, and graduated with his B.S. in Education degree from YSU in 1981. He later received this MA in Secondary Education from YSU in 1993.
His exploits on the sandlot in the area are also noteworthy. His pitching in the local "AA" league earned him the league's pitching title in both 1979 and again this past season, while he played on three N.A.B.F. (National Amateur Baseball Federation) Senior World Series teams and in 1984, helped lead the Trolio's entry of the league to the Championship which was held in Louisville, Ky. It was as a member of the Trolio's squad that he was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
He is a most successful teacher/coach at nearby Boardman High School, teaching both Economics and Global Issues while guiding the Spartan baseball team the past seven seasons. During that time, he has led them to four Steel Valley Conference championships or co-championships (1989, 1990, 1992 and 1995), three District championships (1991,1992 and 1993), one Regional championship (1991) as well as a state runner-up crown (1991).
He was also selected as the M.V.C.A. (Mahoning Valley Conference Association) baseball "Coach of the Year" on four separate occasions as well.
He is married to the former Mary Lynn Urdea.
