The Long Island Classic with 25 Colleges in Attendance
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Head coach Dan Pirillo ’08 was named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year after leading the LIU baseball team to a Division I program record for wins in 2022.
In his sixth season at the helm in 2022, Pirillo’s Sharks earned their first outright NEC title since 1990.
During the 2019 season, Pirillo coached the program to its first win over a top-10 team and Southeastern Conference school with a 1-0 win over ninth-ranked Georgia in late February. LIU was honored with the NEC Sportsmanship Award and excelled in the classroom as it posted a 3.49 GPA, which was highest in the NEC, and saw Frank Cerillo win the NEC Scholar Athlete of the Year award. LIU finished the season 20-33, 10-14 in the NEC and ranked second in the league with a .966 fielding percentage for the 2019 campaign. 24 student athletes were named to the Spring NEC Academic Honor Roll.
In 2018, he guided LIU to the school’s first Northeast Conference Championship and the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1972. The team won a then-program-record 31 games and reached the NEC Tournament for the eighth time in school history. In the first NEC tournament appearance in five seasons, LIU went on to win all three NEC Tournament games en route championship title over Wagner, clinching the automatic NCAA berth.
Along with winning the NEC title, five members of the team garnered NEC All-Tournament Team honors; Patrick Clyne, Rob Griswold, Joe Mercadante, Andrew Turner and Greg Vaughn Jr., with Vaughan Jr. also being named NEC Tournament MVP. Five members of the team also garnered All-NEC honors, the most since 1990. Andrew Turner and Alex Briggs garnered first team recognition, while Mike Kreiger, Andrew Smith and Patrick Clyne were named to the second team. Pirillo also helped guide seven LIU players to NEC weekly awards.
Under Pirillo’s tutelage, Turner increased his batting average 90 over points in two seasons, finishing his senior campaign with a .346 batting average and .493 on base percentage and was drafted in 39th round by the Miami Marlins. He also garnered All-ECAC honors, becoming the first LIU baseball player to do so since 2014.
LIU rewrote the record book in 2019, crushing the program record for strikeouts with 442, well over the 345 mark set in 2013. It also tied the school mark for strikeouts in a game with 17 in a 2-1 win over Central Connecticut State University in May.
Success has also translated off the field for Pirillo’s teams. His teams have excelled in the classroom, earning the NEC Team GPA award in back-to-back years (2018, 2019) and have had over a 3.3 GPA in each of his three years. LIU has also earned ABCA Team Academic Excellence Awards in the last two seasons for a cumulative team grade point average above a 3.00. His student-athletes have been named to the NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll 56 times and 15 were named to the ECAC Academic Honor Roll in 2018.
Since taking over at LIU, Pirillo’s teams have been active in the community. They have raised over $6,000 for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation which honors the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2011. It is a foundation who helps wounded soldiers and first responders get back on their feet.
Paul Gehring is entering his first year at LIU and will work as the Hitting Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Coach Gehring spent the previous nine seasons at Edmonds College in Lynnwood, WA where he served as the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.
During his time at Edmonds, the team compiled an overall record of 256-111 including three conference championships and one NWAC championship. Over the course of nine seasons, Gehring helped produce 58 All-League players, 19 All-NWAC players, eight ABCA All-Americans, seven ABCA Gold Glovers, four League MVP’s, two NWAC Players of the Year, and one ABCA All-American Player of the Year. Prior to his time at Edmonds, Gehring worked for various organizations including a stint in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Wareham Gatemen.
Gehring received his Masters in Sports Administration and Leadership from Seattle University (2011) and his Bachelors in Education From York College (2006).
Holden Capps joined the LIU baseball team as pitching coach entering the 2022-23 academic year.
Capps was drafted by the Kansas City Royals out of the University of Central Oklahoma in the eighth round of the 2017 MLB draft. He played professionally in that organization through the 2022 season, making 114 appearances (18 starts). He most recently pitched with Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Capps also served as a coach with the Southwest Oklahoma Shockers youth travel baseball organization.
Kyle Strovink joined LIU baseball as an assisant coach entering the 2022-23 academic year.
He arrived at LIU after serving as an assistant baseball coach a Princeton the previous season, where he was responsible for working with catchers, hitters and pitchers. He served as first base coach and also contributed to organizing prospect camps.
He previously served as a Mount Sinai High School coach on Long Island.
Strovink played at Limestone University from 2017 through 2021.
He’s a product of Rocky Point High School, where he was an All-American and Suffolk County gold glove winner and the 2016 county catcher of the year. His uncle is fellow Long Islander Keith Osik, who played 10 major league seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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