Sparkill, N.Y. - St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball players Gregory DiGiaro, Kyle Lagrutta, Yanni Orfanidis, Matthew Johnson, Andrew Guerra and Aaron Dona were each named as ECC All-Conference selections on Wednesday afternoon. DiGiaro, Lagrutta and Orfanidis received First Team honors, while Johnson, Guerra and Dona each garnered Second Team accolades in a vote of the conference's coaches.
The six Spartans helped their team secure a berth in ECC postseason tournament for the second straight season under Head Coach Jon Garvey. STAC finished the regular season with a 22-21 record and a 14-7 ECC mark. #4 seed STAC will meet the top seed and hosts, Molloy College in the double elimination format tourney that begins on Thursday at Mitchel Field in Uniondale.
DiGiaro was named to the team as a first baseman, with Johnson as a second baseman, while Lagrutta was recognized as a designated hitter and Guerra an outfielder. Dona was selected to the squad as starting pitcher, while Orfanidis joined the group as a relief pitcher.
Aaron Dona, a senior, led the STAC starting rotation in 2022. He posted a 3-3 record with a 3.66 earned run average over 66.1 innings pitched, while striking out the opposition 81 times. In the bullpen, Yanni Orfanidis led all Spartan relievers with 30 appearances. The graduate student right-hander posted a 4-0 record with a 3.12 ERA in 40.1 innings of work.
Gregory DiGiaro, a junior, excelled offensively for STAC, posting a .322 batting average, with eight doubles, a triple and a team-leading seven home runs. In 34 games played, DiGiaro also recorded 34 RBI (2nd on Team) and 23 runs scored. Lagrutta, a graduate student, held a .326 batting average, with 13 doubles and 27 RBI in 41 games.
Matthew Johnson, another of the Spartan grad students, hit .322, with 11 doubles, a triple, two home runs, 32 RBI and 26 runs scored in 38 contests for the maroon and gold. Meanwhile, senior Andrew Guerra recored a team-leading .337 batting average with 10 doubles, four triples, 30 RBI and 30 runs scored in 42 games.
2022 ECC Baseball All-Conference
First Team
C - Thomas Brady, Molloy
1B - Gregory DiGiaro, St. Thomas Aquinas
2B - Marc Cisco, Queens
3B - Lou Antos, Queens
SS - Jaden Caballero, Mercy
OF - Ethan Hammond, D’Youville
OF - Matt Overton, Molloy
OF - Vincent Pecora, Molloy
DH - Kyle Lagrutta, St. Thomas Aquinas
UTL - Colin Diez, Queens
SP - Mike Andreoli, Molloy
SP - Julien Arcos, Queens
SP - Chris AuClair, D’Youville
SP - Charlie Cucchiara, Molloy
RP - Yanni Orfanidis, St. Thomas Aquinas
Second Team
C - Anthony Pascale, Bridgeport
1B - Matt Filip, Queens
2B - Matthew Johnson, St. Thomas Aquinas
3B - Nolan Giblin, Mercy
SS - David Franchi, Molloy
OF - Domenick Castiglione, Staten Island
OF - Andrew Guerra, St. Thomas Aquinas
OF - Jayson Rodopoulos, Queens
DH - Peter Theodorellis, Molloy
UTL - Nathan Rodriguez, Mercy
SP - Aaron Dona, St. Thomas Aquinas
SP - John Esposito, Staten Island
SP - Kevin Seckler, Mercy
SP - Billy Wildeman, Molloy
RP - Kuzari Jocelyn, Mercy
Player & Rookie of the Year: Marc Cisco, Queens
Pitcher of the Year: Charlie Cucchiara, Molloy
Co-Coach of the Year: Joe Fucarino, Molloy
Co-Coach of the Year: Chris Reardon, Queens