West Babylon, N.Y. – The East Coast Conference announced its baseball All-Conference teams on Wednesday. St. Thomas Aquinas senior outfielder Giovanni Dingcong (Daly City, Calif.) and LIU Post junior pitcher James Varela (Levittown, N.Y.) headline the selections as the league's Player and Pitcher of the Year. Molloy freshman outfielder, Matt Overton (Smithtown, N.Y.), was also selected as the conference's Rookie of the Year.
Dingcong has been a powerful force in the middle of the Spartans' lineup. Heading into the conference tournament, the senior outfielder leads the league with 13 homeruns, 50 runs batted in, 118 total bases, and a .742 slugging percentage while ranking third with 14 doubles, as well. His homerun total gives him 45 for his career, moving him into the top-five in ECC history. Dingcong has been more than just a power hitter, however. He also ranks fourth in the league with a .371 batting average, fourth with a .480 on-base percentage, and is seventh in the ECC with 19 stolen bases.
Varela has been one of the top pitchers in all of Division II in a breakout junior season. The righty finished the regular season with a 10-1 record, 110 strikeouts, and a 2.63 earned run average over 12 starts and 92.1 innings. He leads the ECC in each category, except ERA in which he ranks third. In addition, Varela is tops in the ECC with six complete games and two shutouts on the year. His name can be found among the Division II leaders, as well. His 10 wins rank fourth in the nation, while he is in the top-15 in strikeouts, complete games, hits allowed per nine innings (6.04), and WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched - 0.94).
Overton had a standout freshman campaign to earn the league's Rookie of the Year honor. He holds the highest batting average among first-year players with a mark of .331, which is also good for 10th in the ECC. Overton has also contributed 10 doubles, two triples, one homerun, while ranking in the top-10 in the ECC with 29 RBI, 29 walks, and a .436 on-base percentage.
Molloy head coach, Joe Fucarino, earns the ECC's Coach of the Year honor from his peers to wrap up the league's major honors. Fucarino guided the Lions to a 29-19 record and a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship for the first time since 2011.
Joining Dingcong and Varela as All-Conference First Team selections are Anthony Vaglica (Jr., C, LIU Post), Angelo Navetta (Sr., 1B, Molloy), Sean Hogan (So., 2B, Molloy), Anthony Shkrelja (Sr., 3B, St. Thomas Aquinas), Joseph Pena (Sr., SS, St. Thomas Aquinas), Dave Brehm (Jr., OF, LIU Post), Daren Grabowski (Sr., OF, Bridgeport), Tom Rinaldi (Gr., DH, Bridgeport), Anthony Murphy (Jr., UTL, Mercy), Chris Cepeda (R-Jr., SP, St. Thomas Aquinas), Kevin Hiss (Sr., SP, Molloy), Frankie Moscatiello (Sr., SP, St. Thomas Aquinas), and Angelo Baez (So., RP, St. Thomas Aquinas).
Overton is joined by Cris Ruiz (Jr., C, St. Thomas Aquinas), Ramger Iglesias (Sr., 2B, LIU Post), Joseph Sadallah (Jr., 3B, Mercy), Logan Allen (Fr., SS, Bridgeport), Rob Andreoli (Sr., OF, LIU Post), Mark Shkrelja (Sr., OF, St. Thomas Aquinas), Ben Torres (Sr., OF, Bridgeport), Michael Manzione (Jr., DH, LIU Post), Tyler Patane (Jr., UTL, St. Thomas Aquinas), Dennis Buckstein (Jr., SP, Queens), Noah Lorenzo (So., SP, LIU Post), Kevin Tise (Jr., SP, Mercy), Anthony Vano (So., SP, Molloy), and Shawn Klotsche (Sr., RP, Molloy) on the All-Conference Second Team.
2018 ECC Baseball All-Conference
First Team
C - Anthony Vaglica, LIU Post
1B - Angelo Navetta, Molloy
2B - Sean Hogan, Molloy
3B - Anthony Shkrelja, St. Thomas Aquinas
SS - Joseph Pena, St. Thomas Aquinas
OF - Dave Brehm, LIU Post
OF - Giovanni Dingcong, St. Thomas Aquinas
OF - Daren Grabowski, Bridgeport
DH - Tom Rinaldi, Bridgeport
UTL - Anthony Murphy, Mercy
SP - Chris Cepda, St. Thomas Aquinas
SP - Kevin Hiss, Molloy
SP - Frankie Moscatiello, St. Thomas Aquinas
SP - James Varela, LIU Post
RP - Angelo Baez, St. Thomas Aquinas
Second Team
C - Cris Ruiz, St. Thomas Aquinas
2B - Ramger Iglesias, LIU Post
3B - Joseph Sadallah, Mercy
SS - Logan Allen, Bridgeport
OF - Rob Andreoli, LIU Post
OF - Matt Overton, Molloy
OF - Mark Shkrelja, St. Thomas Aquinas
OF - Ben Torres, Bridgeport
DH - Michael Manzione, LIU Post
UTL - Tyler Patane, St. Thomas Aquinas
SP - Dennis Buckstein, Queens
SP - Noah Lorenzo, LIU Post
SP - Kevin Tise, Mercy
SP - Anthony Vano, Molloy
RP - Shawn Klotsche, Molloy
Player of the Year: Giovanni Dingcong, Sr., OF, St. Thomas Aquinas
Pitcher of the Year: James Varela, Jr., LIU Post
Rookie of the Year: Matt Overton, Fr., OF, Molloy
Coach of the Year: Joe Fucarino, Molloy
* - There are four OF on the Second Team due to a tie in the voting
