Lackawanna College

Jeff Pittsman is entering his 14th year as head coach for the Lackawanna College softball team in 2025.

Hired to coach for the 2012 season, coach "Pitt" was tasked with a major rebuilding project, taking over a program that was low in numbers and enthusiasm. After taking their lumps through a trying first year, Lackawanna immediately improved, going 13-19 in year two under coach Pittsman. The next year, the Falcons finished at .500 for the first time in several seasons, going 14-14 and qualifying for the GSAC playoffs.

In 2016, the Falcons lept forward, going 25-14 and finishing above .500 for the first time in a long time. The Falcons won nine straight at one point, and made the Region XIX playoffs. That earned coach Pittsman a nod from EPAC as the Coach of the Year. 

2017 saw coach Pitt's Falcons capture their first Region XIX championship since 2002, upending top-seeded Morris as the #4 seed in the tournament. The Falcons finished the year at 24-14, and coach Pittsman was once again named EPAC Coach of the Year. 

The Falcons upped their game in 2018, going 29-16. Lackawanna had five All-Region XIX selections, an NJCAA All-America selection in Colleen Cwalina, and qualified for the Region XIX tournament as the third seed, before bowing out to Morris in an elimination game. 

Lackawanna was at its best in 2019, winning 34 games and earning the #2 seed in the Region XIX tournament. The Falcons fell in the final to Morris once again, but had five selections to the All-Region XIX squad for the year.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the season down, Pittsman had the Falcons were off to an 8-3 start in 2020. In 2021, the Falcons were 17-11 in the shortened and truncated campaign, still managing to qualify for the Region XIX tournament, where they were beaten by the hosts, Delaware Tech.

In 2022, Pittsman and Lackawanna went 31-22, winning ten out of eleven games at one point, and once again qualifying for the Region XIX tournament. Unfortunately, the season was cut short with back-to-back losses in the tournament, including dropping an elimination game to the hosts, Delaware Tech. 

The Falcons were 28-19 in 2023, another year above .500 and just missing on 30 wins. Lackawanna had two separate four-game winning streaks, qualified for the Region XIX tournament, and won a play-in series to get to the four-team playoff, before dropping a pair of games in the Region XIX tournament. 

The 2024 season saw the Falcons win 35 games, the most that Lackawanna has won with Pittsman in charge. The Falcons had a 13-game winning streak at one point. Lackawanna also won 12-of-14 at one point late in the season, before dropping its final five games, including a pair of losses in the Region XIX DII tournament. The 35 wins fell one win shy of tying the all-time record of 36 wins, set in 2001. The Falcons had five All-Region XIX selections for the year.

In his time at Lackawanna, Pittsman is 262-210, with three 30+ win seasons, several All-Region selections, and multiple All-Academic selections in his tenure. 

Prior to becoming the head coach, Pittsman spent eight months as the assistant coach for the softball team.

Before coming to Lackawanna, Pittsman worked as an assistant football coach and strength and conditioning coach at Mid Valley High School from 1989-2001. After his time at Mid Valley, Pittsman took the assistant football coaching position at Riverside from 2003 to 2004. From 2006 to 2010, he served as the coach for the Impact Panthers and from 2011-2013 he coached for the Northeast Stars travel softball team. 

Coach Pittsman played one season of baseball in 1998 for PSU Worthington, he has attended Mansfield University and Penn State University. Jeff is a 1987 graduate of Mid Valley High School and he currently resides in Mount Cobb, PA.

The Jeff Pittsman File