The 1977 CMU baseball team. Front (from left), Dave Mayes, Ludwig Schultz, Jeff Gahan, John Mindelli, Chris Theunissen, Terry J. Lynch, Walt Gawkowski, Del Malloch, Chris Czarka, Forrest Hawkins, Nick Lujan, Steve Jaksa, Dan Rohn; middle, student manager James Bourdgani, student manager Thomas Lavoie, Rance Aguirre, Roger Fritz, Mike Schervish, Paul Nelson, Jerry Johnson, Wally Kroll, Richard Harper, Ray Soff, Mark Fellows, Jim Cluley, Mark Vanderlinden, Christopher Jaciuk; back, athletic trainer Jeffrey Horler, assistant coach Dean Kreiner, coach Dave Keilitz, Bob Grandas, Mick Cochran, Ben Bonk, Doug Harrison, Larry Williams, Kevin Flannery, James Vanderhull, assistant coach John Northrup, assistant coach Dan Griesbaum, Jon Pavlisko.
Hall of Fame 2025: 1977 Baseball Team Was 'Everything you Look for in a Team'
8/21/2025 11:11:00 AM | Baseball, General, Our Stories
Led by legendary Dave Keilitz, '77 Chippewas made history as first CMU baseball team to capture MAC crown
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It was 1977 and the Central Michigan baseball team was in the midst of its 15-game spring trip to Texas, during which the opposition included Texas, Baylor and TCU.
"We got together without the coaches and we kind of aired some things out," said senior shortstop Jeff Gahan, the team captain. "We said, 'What do we want to do? What are we here for?
"We just collectively decided that we were going to put all of our personal goals, our personal wants, out the door and everything that we were going to do from that day forward was going to be for the betterment of the team."
It worked.
That team, coached by CMU legend Dave Keilitz, went on to finish 44-14, won the Mid-American Conference championship with a 14-4 mark, and ignited a run of 10 league titles over a 17-year span for Chippewa baseball.
Both win totals were then-program records and it was CMU's first MAC baseball title. The Chippewas advanced to the NCAA Regional – the first Division I CMU baseball team to partake in the tournament – where it finished 1-2.
The team will be inducted into the Marcy Weston CMU Hall of Fame in a ceremony in McGuirk Arena on Friday, Sept. 26, and then introduced during the CMU football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27.
"It was everything you look for in a team," said Keilitz, who had taken over as the Chippewas head coach in 1971 after serving for seven years as an assistant under Waldo Sauter. "We had talent, we had a very strong mental makeup, and we had refuse-to-lose guys.
"We had outstanding leadership, and they were great teammates."
The pitching staff was led by the trio of Kevin Flannery, Chris Czarka and Ben Bonk. Outfielder Bob Grandas and Bonk, who also served as the designated hitter, led a solid lineup that included six regulars who hit at least .300.
The Chippewas finished with a .313 team batting average while CMU pitchers held opposing hitters to a .266 clip while posting an earned run average of 4.08.
Perhaps the most dazzling statistic posted by the '77 team was its 136 stolen bases (on 182 attempts) and its .984 fielding percentage, both of which were among the top 10 in the nation.
Second baseman Dan Rohn and Bonk earned All-America honors and were among four Chippewas named both All-Region and All-MAC. Keilitz was named the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year.
Eleven players from the squad went on to careers in professional baseball and three team members – Keilitz, assistant coach Dean Kreiner, and Grandas -- are in the CMU Hall of Fame as individuals. Just one other Chippewa baseball team, the 1971 NCAA College Division national runner-up, is in the hall of fame.
While the Chippewas possessed talent, experience and leadership, their bond and their competitiveness set them apart.
"The fellowship, you can tell how close they were and how much everybody loved each other and how much they loved being part of that team," Keilitz said. "You take all of those things and put them together, you've got a pretty good ballclub."
Keilitz, who in '77 was in the seventh year of a 14-year coaching career, assembled the pieces and laid the foundation. His guidance and vision, Gahan said, was critical.
"He's just so consistent and reasonable and knowledgeable and empathetic," Gahan said. "He always remembers everybody's wife's name, knows their kids' names.
"I don't know how he does it because I can't remember what I had for dinner last night. It's just amazing; just imagine how that makes everybody feel when you don't seem him for 10 years and he's asking you about your kids and knows your wife's name. He's an amazing man; an amazing man. We were very, very fortunate to have had him as our leader in '77 for sure."
"We got together without the coaches and we kind of aired some things out," said senior shortstop Jeff Gahan, the team captain. "We said, 'What do we want to do? What are we here for?
"We just collectively decided that we were going to put all of our personal goals, our personal wants, out the door and everything that we were going to do from that day forward was going to be for the betterment of the team."
It worked.
That team, coached by CMU legend Dave Keilitz, went on to finish 44-14, won the Mid-American Conference championship with a 14-4 mark, and ignited a run of 10 league titles over a 17-year span for Chippewa baseball.
Both win totals were then-program records and it was CMU's first MAC baseball title. The Chippewas advanced to the NCAA Regional – the first Division I CMU baseball team to partake in the tournament – where it finished 1-2.
The team will be inducted into the Marcy Weston CMU Hall of Fame in a ceremony in McGuirk Arena on Friday, Sept. 26, and then introduced during the CMU football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27.
"It was everything you look for in a team," said Keilitz, who had taken over as the Chippewas head coach in 1971 after serving for seven years as an assistant under Waldo Sauter. "We had talent, we had a very strong mental makeup, and we had refuse-to-lose guys.
"We had outstanding leadership, and they were great teammates."
The pitching staff was led by the trio of Kevin Flannery, Chris Czarka and Ben Bonk. Outfielder Bob Grandas and Bonk, who also served as the designated hitter, led a solid lineup that included six regulars who hit at least .300.
The Chippewas finished with a .313 team batting average while CMU pitchers held opposing hitters to a .266 clip while posting an earned run average of 4.08.
Perhaps the most dazzling statistic posted by the '77 team was its 136 stolen bases (on 182 attempts) and its .984 fielding percentage, both of which were among the top 10 in the nation.
Second baseman Dan Rohn and Bonk earned All-America honors and were among four Chippewas named both All-Region and All-MAC. Keilitz was named the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year.
Eleven players from the squad went on to careers in professional baseball and three team members – Keilitz, assistant coach Dean Kreiner, and Grandas -- are in the CMU Hall of Fame as individuals. Just one other Chippewa baseball team, the 1971 NCAA College Division national runner-up, is in the hall of fame.
While the Chippewas possessed talent, experience and leadership, their bond and their competitiveness set them apart.
"The fellowship, you can tell how close they were and how much everybody loved each other and how much they loved being part of that team," Keilitz said. "You take all of those things and put them together, you've got a pretty good ballclub."
Keilitz, who in '77 was in the seventh year of a 14-year coaching career, assembled the pieces and laid the foundation. His guidance and vision, Gahan said, was critical.
"He's just so consistent and reasonable and knowledgeable and empathetic," Gahan said. "He always remembers everybody's wife's name, knows their kids' names.
"I don't know how he does it because I can't remember what I had for dinner last night. It's just amazing; just imagine how that makes everybody feel when you don't seem him for 10 years and he's asking you about your kids and knows your wife's name. He's an amazing man; an amazing man. We were very, very fortunate to have had him as our leader in '77 for sure."
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