WEST BABYLON, N.Y. – Junior right-hander James Varela was tabbed as the East Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year to highlight a group of seven Pioneers that garnered All-ECC accolades as announced by the league office May 9.
 
Varela put together one of the best seasons in LIU Post program history on the mound, compiling a 10-1 record through the regular season with 110 strikeouts. Both the 10 wins and 110 strikeouts are new single-season program records, and Varela ranks fourth in Division II in wins and 12th in strikeouts. Varela broke both program records on April 27 when he allowed four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts against Molloy College. The previous strikeout record had stood for 53 years as Steve Drummond struck out 96 batters in 1964.
 
Along with Varela, juniors Anthony Vaglica and Dave Brehm garnered first-team accolades after putting up big offensive numbers this year. Vaglica ranks second in the conference with four home runs against league opponents, while recording 29 total runs batted in. The junior backstop leads the Pioneers with 13 doubles and 20 extra-base hits. Brehm also notched a breakout season, ranking fifth in the ECC with a .360 batting average and seventh with 59 hits. Brehm reached base safely in 38 of the team's 46 regular-season contests, notching a .434 on-base percentage.
 
Seniors Rob Andreoli and Ramger Iglesias, junior Michael Manzione and sophomore Noah Lorenzo also captured All-ECC honors, earning spots on the second team. Compiling 50 hits on the season, Andreoli ranks third on the team, while also leading the team with 31 RBIs. On the base paths, Andreoli has swiped 21 bags, ranking second on the team. The only man ahead of Andreoli in stolen bases is Iglesias who shattered the LIU Post single-season mark with 39 stolen bases at the end of the regular season, surpassing the previous mark of 33 set by Pete Timmes in 1985. The senior transfer has caught fire as of late, hitting .351 on the season, including a .432 mark over the final 10 games of the regular season. On senior day against St. Thomas Aquinas, Iglesias finished 7-for-7 at the plate with six stolen bases over two contests.
 
Manzione earned his first All-ECC honor after hitting .325 at the dish with 16 runs scored and 23 RBIs. The junior also ranks sixth in the conference with six home runs, including two long balls in a win against St. Thomas Aquinas on May 7.
 
Rounding out the Pioneers on the all-conference squad was Lorenzo who put together another impressive campaign in his second season. Working as the number two starter in the LIU Post pitching rotation, Lorenzo finished the regular season with a 5-2 record and a 3.48 earned run average. The southpaw added two complete games and ranked second on the squad with 53 strikeouts, including a season-high nine strikeouts against the University of Findlay on March 10.
 
The Pioneers open the East Coast Conference Tournament against No. 2 seed and championship host Molloy College on Thursday, May 10 at 3:00 p.m.