Andreoli, Santiago, Murphy, Prachniak Take Top Honors in ECAC DII Baseball All-ECAC Selections
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced its 2017 Division II Baseball Awards and All-ECAC selections.
Rob Andreoli of LIU Post collected ECAC Player of the Year, and TJ Santiago from Adelphi University was voted the Pitcher of the Year. Infielder Anthony Murphy of Mercy College earned Rookie of the Year, while West Chester University Head Coach Jad Prachniak was named ECAC Coach of the Year to complete the major awards.
Andreoli ranked among the East Coast Conference (ECC) leaders in most offensive categories in 2017. The junior ranked third in batting average (.358), second in hits (69) and led the conference in doubles and RBIs with 15 and 40, respectively. Andreoli was solid in the outfield as well, handling 110 chances with just one error charged against him for a .991 fielding percentage.
Santiago had an impressive season for the Panthers, going 8-3 in 11 starts en route to claiming the Northeast 10 Conference Pitcher of the Year honor. The right-hander posted an ERA of 1.51 in 77.2 innings pitched, fanning 81 and tossing three complete-game shutouts. The senior tied for the NE10 lead in wins, and ranked second in the nation in strikeouts-to-walk ratio and WHIP. Santiago ended the season with 56 hits against, holding opponents to a batting average of .201.
Playing his first season of collegiate baseball, Murphy established himself as a key piece in the Mercy lineup. The infielder compiled a .357 batting average, 23 RBIs, 21 runs scored and 15 extra-base hits. Murphy posted an on-base percentage of .439 and a .558 slugging percentage in his rookie campaign, both of which ranked in the top five in the ECC. In addition to his ECAC accolade, Murphy was named the ECC Rookie of the Year and earned a place on the All-ECC Second Team.
Prachniak led West Chester to its best conference record in six years as he was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Coach of the Year for a third time. Under his direction, the Ram’s went 33-9 overall and 22-6 in PSAC play, marking the best conference record in six years, and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. Prachniak helped place six student-athletes on All-PSAC teams at season’s end, highlighted by Josh McClain’s PSAC East Pitcher of the Year honor.
Player of the Year
Rob Andreoli – LIU Post, Jr.
Pitcher of the Year
TJ Santiago – Adelphi University, Sr.
Rookie of the Year
Anthony Murphy – Mercy College, So.
Coach of the Year
Jad Prachniak – West Chester University
All-ECAC
Steven Withers – Adelphi University, Jr.
Anthony Salomone – West Chester University, Sr.
Thomas Asbaty – LIU Post, Sr.
Shane Dressler – West Chester University, Jr.
Ben Herring – Newberry College, Jr.
Rob Andreoli – LIU Post, Jr.
Nick Lamberty – Southern Connecticut State University, So.
Kenny Daley – LIU Post, Sr.
Michael Gulino – Pace University, Jr.
John Kukura – Pace University, Sr.
Daymon Totherow – Newberry College, Sr.
Greg Zullo – Southern Connecticut State University, Sr.
TJ Santiago – Adelphi University, Sr.
Josh McClain – West Chester University, Sr.
Dan Jagiello – LIU Post, Sr.
Jake DeCarli – LIU Post, Sr.
Zack Kelly – Newberry College, Sr.
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