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Dan Gierlak HS

Dan Gierlak

32nd Year
Edinboro ‘83
 
Dan Gierlak enters his 32nd season at the helm of the Edinboro University softball program.  The veteran coach is approaching 1,100 career games coached as the leader of the Fighting Scots. He has led Edinboro to six appearances in the PSAC Tournament, including one NCAA Division II playoff berth in 2007.

Gierlak has guided the Fighting Scots to eight twenty-win campaigns.  He owns an overall record of 463-608-5.
 
His 2019 squad was one of the most successful during his long tenure. The Fighting Scots ended the year with a 22-19 record, the most wins since 2015. Edinboro would qualify for the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2014 while going 12-8 in PSAC action. The 22 wins are the third-highest season total.

Dan + Joey Gierlak vs. MSU-MoorheadEdinboro would return from its spring trip to Florida with a 3-9 record while facing strong competition. They proceeded to run off five straight wins to start the northern portion of their schedule. They were still just 2-4 in PSAC West action when they caught fire again. Riding the powerful bat of PSAC West Player of the Year Olivia Jankowski, Edinboro spurted with wins in nine of the next 11 games. The Scots clinched the PSAC Tournament berth with a doubleheader sweep of Mercyhurst to wrap up the regular season.
 
The 2019 season was even more impressive after the 2018 squad, with just one senior finished with a 6-25 record. Seven of the losses came by two runs or less, including three one-run setbacks.

Prior to that, the Fighting Scots had won 15-or-more games in three of the previous four seasons. That includes a 2015 campaign in which Edinboro finished with a 23-14-1 record, the second-highest win total ever. The Fighting Scots fell just shy of a PSAC Tournament berth while ending at 15-12-1 in conference play. In fact, it came down to the last day of the season, with Edinboro dropping a doubleheader at Indiana(Pa.) while needing a split to qualify for postseason action.
 
The 2014 team was the last to qualify for the PSAC Tournament prior to 2019. The Fighting Scots concluded the season with a 17-24-1 ledger.
           
Edinboro qualified for the PSAC playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, Gierlak guided the Fighting Scots to a school-record 26 wins, as Edinboro finished with a 26-19 ledger.  The 26 wins surpassed the 1986 squad which finished 23-8.   Edinboro qualified for the PSAC Playoffs for the second time in three years, and third time overall, winning a pair of games.  Edinboro finished as the number two seed out of the Western Division. 
           
The 2009 Fighting Scot squad also had its first-ever All-American, as second baseman Dana Webb was named to the third team Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American Team, and was a first team Daktronics All-American.  Webb also became the first Fighting Scot recognized as the PSAC West Player of the Year.

In 2010, Gierlak guided Edinboro to its second straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament, as a young team with freshmen at many key positions finished with a 19-18 record. In fact, they may have been in line for their second trip in three years to the NCAA Playoffs if not for six straight losses to end the season.  The last two came in the PSAC playoffs.  
                      
dan gierlak vs. seton hillThe 2012 season had a particularly disappointing ending as the Fighting Scots rallied with four wins in six games to need just one win entering their final doubleheader at Gannon to qualify for postseason action.  On a cold and windy day, Edinboro lost the first game, 3-0, and fell in the nightcap, 5-3, to end the year at 6-10 in the PSAC West and 16-18 overall.

In 2001, the Fighting Scots finished at 13-16 and 4-10 in the PSAC West.  They were haunted by weather that forced the backup of doubleheaders after the team finished a very solid southern swing with a 9-6 record.  Eight of the losses came by two runs or less.
           
In 2008, the Fighting Scots barely missed qualifying for the NCAA playoffs, finishing the year with an 18-20 record after losing five of their final seven contests.
           
The 2007 campaign was one of its most successful seasons in school history, as the Fighting Scots made their second-ever trip to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Playoffs, then were selected for the NCAA Playoffs. 
           
That marked the first time an Edinboro team had been selected for NCAA postseason play.  The Fighting Scots responded with a strong showing in the Mid-Atlantic Regional, upsetting nationally-ranked Kutztown and Shippensburg before finally being eliminated. 
           
All told, Edinboro finished with a 21-22 record and was 12-7 in the PSAC West, good for second place. The season was capped by a 1-0 win over the defending national champion and 2007 NCAA Division II runner-up Lock Haven.  The victory snapped the Lady Eagles’ 34-game winning streak.
 
The 21 wins represented the most since the 2000 team went 21-15.  That was also the last team to win more conference games, as the 2000 edition went 14-6 in league plays. 
           
Gierlak began his coaching career in football before concentrating on softball.  He coached the Edinboro softball team from 1988-94, then after a one-year hiatus in 1995 to focus solely on his duties as an assistant on former head coach Tom Hollman’s football staff, he returned in 1996 and has led the Fighting Scots ever since.
 
After graduating from Edinboro in 1983, Gierlak moved on to Thiel College, serving as an assistant football coach in 1984. His next stop was semi-professional football, directing the Chicago Cowboys to a second-place national finish in 1985.
 
Gierlak returned to his alma mater in 1986, serving as an assistant football coach at Edinboro for nine seasons. He was responsible for the recruitment and coaching of eight Fighting Scot All-Americans, including 1989 Harlon Hill finalist Elbert Cole, and Jeremy O’Day, a 1996 first team All-PSAC offensive lineman and a member of two Grey Cup championship teams while enjoying a long career in the Canadian Football League.  
           
A native of Buffalo, New York, Gierlak graduated from Edinboro with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Physical Education.  He was a three-year letterman for the Fighting Scots football team as a defensive back.
           
Gierlak and his wife, the former Amy Adams, reside in Edinboro and have three children, Alex, who played softball at Edinboro, Joey, who has served as a volunteer assistant coach at Edinboro, and Lauren, who is currently a graduate student and outfielder for the Fighting Scots.  Amy is an Edinboro graduate, as well, and was the 1989 Nancy Acker Award winner, recognizing the top senior female athlete at Edinboro.


DAN GIERLAK'S HEAD COACHING CAREER
 
Year Overall PSAC Pct.
1989 19-14 5-5 .621
1990* 14-20-1 16-4 .426
1991 11-23 2-8 .324
1992 6-16 2-8 .273
1993 13-20 5-5 .394
1994 21-10 6-4 .677
1996 19-19 9-11 .500
1997 20-22 7-13 .476
1998 15-24 9-11 .385
1999 20-22-1 11-9 .478
2000 21-15 14-6 .583
2001 9-28 5-15 .243
2002 7-24 3-15 .226
2003 16-22 7-13 .421
2004 8-28 3-17 .222
2005 10-19-1 2-16-1 .345
2006 15-23 8-12 .395
2007*# 21-22 12-7 .488
2008 18-20 10-10 .474
2009* 26-19 7-7 .578
2010* 19-18 7-9 .438
2011 13-16 4-10 .448
2012 16-18 6-10 .471
2013 8-23 5-11 .258
2014* 17-24-1    12-15-1 .415
2015 23-14-1    15-12-1 .622
2016 14-20 8-12 .412
2017 16-21 7-13 .444
2018 6-25 2-16 .194
2019*         22-19 12-8 .537
2020+ 0-12 0-0 .000
32 Years 463-620-5 192-273-3  .428


* qualified for PSAC Tournament

# selected for NCAA Division II Playoffs
+ Season halted due to COVID-19 virus