West Babylon, N.Y. - Abbey Fortin (Langley, British Columbia), Katie Humhej (Surrey, British Columbia), Breanna Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio), and Jamie Apicella gave LIU Post a sweep of the East Coast Conference Softball All-Conference major awards which were announced on Friday afternoon at the league's postseason tournament.
There was no sophomore slump for Fortin as she was named the ECC Player of the Year. A year after claiming the league's Rookie of the Year award, Fortin was even better in 2018. At the conclusion of the regular season, her name could be found atop the conference leaderboard in numerous categories. She led the league in hits (69), triples (6), homeruns (12) , runs batted in (52), total bases (128), and slugging percentage (.757). In addition, she ranked in the league's top-five with 45 runs scored and a .408 batting average.
Humhej, also a sophomore, claims the Pitcher of the Year honor after compiling a 15-8 overall record with a 2.34 earned run average. Her ERA was good for second in the ECC, while her win total was third. Humhej was among the conference leaders with 140.2 innings pitched (5th) and 114 strikeouts (2nd), as well. In addition, she finished first in the ECC and 27th nationally with six shutouts on the season. Four of those shutouts came during conference play where she was even tougher to hit. In ECC play, she was a perfect 10-0 with a league-low 1.59 ERA.
Klaiber becomes the third straight Rookie of the Year from LIU Post. The freshman third baseman was among the league's best hitters during her debut campaign. She finished with 61 hits for a .401 batting average, .462 on-base percentage, and a .586 slugging percentage, all among the ECC's top-10. Klaiber added 13 doubles, five homeruns, and 34 RBI to round out her rookie-year state line.
The coaches of the ECC selected Apicella as the league's Coach of the Year. Apicella led the Pioneers to a 32-16 overall record and a 19-5 mark in conference play to earn the ECC Regular Season Championship and claim the top seed in the conference tournament.
Lloyd, Seader, Hawks and Fortin are joined by Julia Seader (Jr., C, LIU Post), Hannah Mueller (Fr., 1B, Mercy), Leah Mele (Jr., 2B, LIU Post), Allison Luzzi (So., SS, Bridgeport), Mikayla Newham (Jr., OF, Mercy), Kaira Ramon (Fr., OF, Bridgeport), Yalitza Rodriguez (Sr., DP, Bridgeport), Allie Pellizzaro (Sr., U, Mercy), ToniMarie Valeriano (Sr., U-P, Queens), and Jenna Turato (Jr., P, Molloy) on the ECC All-Conference First Team.
Second Team honorees include Baylee McCormick (Sr., C, Mercy), Brooke Scherer (So, 1B, NYIT), Katilyn Snyder (Jr., 2B, Molloy), Skania Lemus (Sr., 3B, Mercy), Brianna Dalton (Sr., SS, Molloy), Ashley Landolina (So., SS, St. Thomas Aquinas), Olivia Banulski (Sr., OF, Molloy), Jessica Daniel (Sr., OF, NYIT), Melissa Sadler (So., OF, St. Thomas Aquinas), Courtney Greene (Fr., DP, Molloy), Lizul Portugal (Fr., U, NYIT), Briana Keaveney (Jr., U-P, St. Thomas Aquinas), Hanna Olshevski (Jr., P, LIU Post), and Amanda Staheli (Sr., P, Bridgeport).
2018 ECC Softball All-Conference
First Team
C- Julia Seader, LIU Post
1B - Hannah Mueller, Mercy
2B - Leah Mele, LIU Post
3B - Breanna Klaiber, LIU Post
SS - Allison Luzzi, Bridgeport
OF - Abbey Fortin, LIU Post
OF - Mikalya Newham, Mercy
OF - Kaira Ramon, Bridgeport
DP - Yalitza Rodriguez, Bridgeport
U - Allie Pellizaro, Mercy
U-P - ToniMarie Valeriano, Queens
P - Katie Humhej, LIU Post
P - Jenna Turato, Molloy
Second Team
C - Baylee McCormick, Mercy
1B - Brooke Scherer, NYIT
2B - Kaitlyn Snyder, Molloy
3B - Skania Lemus, Mercy
SS - Brianna Dalton, Molloy
SS - Ashley Landolina, St. Thomas Aquinas
OF - Olivia Banulski, Molloy
OF - Jessica Daniel, NYIT
OF - Melissa Sadler, St. Thomas Aquinas
DP - Courtney Greene, Molloy
U - Lizul Portugal, NYIT
U-P - Briana Keaveney, St. Thomas Aquinas
P - Hannah Olshevski, LIU Post
P - Amanda Staheli, Bridgeport
Player of the Year: Abbey Fortin, So., OF, LIU Post
Pitcher of the Year: Katie Humhej, So., LIU Post
Rookie of the Year: Breanna Klaiber, Fr., 3B, LIU Post
Coach of the Year: Jamie Apicella, LIU Post