Last year’s record: 23-20
Key roster losses: Joey Arena (P), David Groeneveld (1B)
Key additions: Anthony Vaglica (C/1B), Zach Fritz (INF), Kurt Rissland (P), Julian Arcos (P), Noah Lorenzo (P), Pat McCabe (P), Mike Stiles (P)
Key roster returners: Jake DeCarli (P), Dan Jagiello (P), Rob Andreoli (OF), Joe Spitaleri (INF), James Varela (P), Thomas Asbaty (C) Kenny Daley (OF), Kyle Fagan (C/OF)
The Pioneers fell just short of an East Coast Conference (ECC) tournament appearance in 2016 despite winning nine out of their last 10 games to finish the year. With some key returners coming back and a roster filled with high-ceiling talent, however, Pioneer nation is confident that the 2017 campaign will yield better results.
Strengths
The Pioneers’ strength is the culture that was developed under the supervision of third year head coach Mike Gaffney. “The guys are all hungry this year, and everyone has bought in; nobody is afraid to hold each other accountable and the senior leadership is a big reason why.”
Among those seniors include 2015 Baseball on the Island Cy Young Jake DeCarli, who actually took a slight step back in 2016. He posted a still-solid 3.08 ERA over 73 innings (up from 0.76 in ’15). Joining forces with him is senior workhorse Dan Jagiello, who compiled a record of 7-3 with a 3.64 ERA over 66.2 innings. His performance will garner the attention of the local scouts–as they have flocked to him the past two seasons.
Sophomore Brian Kavanagh thew 55.2 last season and showed enough to warrant a rotation spot to begin the season. The East Meadow grad has the potential to take over for DeCarli and Jagiello when they graduate next year.
Some notable newcomers that have potential to add depth to the Pioneers’ staff include freshmen pitchers Kurt Rissland, Julian Arcos, Noah Lorenzo, Mike Lazos, Mike Stiles and Pat McCabe . All are coming off successful high school careers and have the potential to step in and contribute quality innings. Stiles was the League VI MVP from Comsewogue.
On the offensive side they will be counting on another big year from junior Rob Andreoli. He was named to our All-Long Island team–thanks to a .337/.399/.429 slash line and 55 hits.
Seniors Kenny Daley, Thomas Asbaty, and Kyle Fagan are proven hitters in the league and will be relied on to provide veteran leadership.
They will also be counting on some younger bats to lengthen the lineup.
Joe Spitaleri, Dave Brehm and Jimmy Mendyk are returning players that have huge upside and showed last year that they are ready for this stage. They also have high hopes for sophomore transfer from USC Upstate, Anthony Vaglica, who is a Franklin Square native that will split time with Asbaty behind the plate. Last but not least is freshman Zach Fritz, who won the Nassau County Class AA title with East Meadow last year and has one of most powerful swings on the island.
Look out for the Pioneers’ talented youth to have break out seasons under the wing of head coach Mike Gaffney and the battled tested senior leaders.
Weaknesses
LIU Post kicks off the 2017 season with a bevy of top-ranked regional and national Div-II teams. Their first nine games are against teams like Southern New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce, Limestone, and Gannon University. Getting off to a tough start could be a tough blow to the team’s psyche.
They were a bit snake-bit when it came to close games in 2016.
The Pioneers suffered nine tough luck losses last year that were decided by three runs or less. If they won just half of those games, they could’ve been one of the top seeds in the postseason.
Mike Trout photographed for BodyArmor sports drink by Monte Isom
Overview
The LIU Post Pioneers are a hungry, battled tested mix that are coming into the 2017 season with a chip on their shoulder. They have talent everywhere and this time they believe that the baseball culture and experience developed last year will be the foundation of a much more successful season. There is reason to believe they will make it happen.
