By Michael Malaszczyk
Coach Daniel Freeman of Roslyn is looking ahead to the 2022 baseball season with confidence.
Roslyn had a great season in 2021. They finished with a 14-2 overall record, were the champions of their conference, and made it into the playoffs. In the playoffs, they lost to South Side; the team who would go on to win the County Championship. Considering 2021 was the first season in two years, with the 2020 season lost to the pandemic, this was an impressive feat by Roslyn.
“Last season was one of the most successful years that we have had in school history,” said Freeman. “We were conference champions for the first time in almost 30 years and finished on a twelve game winning streak. We stayed undefeated at home, had three All-County players (Jordan Zucker, Danny Rosman, and Hayden Leiderman), and the Diamond Award winner in Hayden Leiderman who went the entire season without giving up an earned or unearned run.”
Hayden Leiderman (Roslyn 2021) accepting his Diamond Pitching Award pic.twitter.com/mkXJ3yBPr2
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 1, 2021
Despite Roslyn’s success in 2021, however, Coach Freeman does not want to settle for anything less than number one. He aims to take his team further in 2022, according to his interview with Axcess Baseball.
“We got beat by a very good, eventual County Champion South Side team,” said Freeman. “Our goal was to go all the way, and although we had much regular season success, we still fell short of where we ultimately wanted to get to.”
Roslyn had eight seniors graduate last year. Among them were star players Hayden Leiderman (now playing for University of Chicago), Danny Rosman (now playing for Haverford University), and Justin Mashaal (now playing club baseball at Duke University).
Coach Freeman felt all of these seniors are irreplaceable and feels the legacies they left on Roslyn’s team will be enduring.
“The leadership and work ethic put forth by our seniors last year has had a lasting impact on the rest of the returning players,” said Freeman. “The young players on our team saw how much work goes into a season and what it takes to have success at this level. Additionally, they learned what it feels like to win and be competitive on the varsity level.”
According to Freeman, Roslyn’s team has “a great mix of seniors and underclassmen,” which should translate to a cycle of new players learning from experienced players for years to come.
Among players to look out for at Roslyn are first baseman/third baseman/pitcher Tyler Giordano (‘24, batted .333 in 2021, 23 RBIs), outfielder/first baseman/pitcher Lucas Weisser (‘24, batted .300 in 2021, 10 RBIs), and outfielder/pitcher Matthew Fliegler (‘23, batted .372 in 2021, .481 OBP).
Tyler Giordano (Roslyn 2023) was All-Conference batting .333 with 23 RBI this season pic.twitter.com/ma90OYUy37
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 2, 2021
Giordano received All-Conference honors as a freshman. Weiser and Fliegler both received All-League honors when they were a freshman and a sophomore, respectively. Freeman also took note of outfielder Steven Vlahopoulos (‘22), saying he was “expected to make an impact this season”.
Of this team’s seniors, there are no current college commitments.
Coach Freeman is very confident in his team’s work ethic. “These guys have been living in the gym, hitting the cage and throwing constantly,” said Freeman. “Whether we have workouts at 6am or 6pm, we have a full gym ready to get after it.”
Freeman feels his team’s key strengths will be their offense and fielding.
“We hit non-stop in the off season and focus on our fielding fundamentals every day in practice,” he said. “We also need leadership to once again be a strength of this team. You cannot put into words the value of guys that lead on and off the field on a daily basis.”
Coach Freeman feels his conference is incredibly strong, with a special note to Carey and Calhoun.
“Calhoun and Carey are bringing back a lot of players, especially pitching, they should be very tough to deal with,” said Freeman. “All of our opponents will be tough and it will bring out the best in our team.”
Coach Freeman is celebrating his tenth season as the varsity baseball coach at Roslyn.
“Baseball means everything to me,” he said. “It symbolizes an important connection with my father, step father and my youth. This is the greatest game ever created and should always be fun and bring the best out in people. It is never easy, but nothing makes me happier than being on the field with my team everyday.”
With an experienced team coming off of a successful 2021 and a seasoned coach, look for Roslyn to make a strong play for the County Championship in 2022.
Roslyn’s opening day is set for March 28th. They will be playing at home against Hewlett.
