by Mike Merolle
(Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series.)
Roslyn 8, Great neck North 0
WP- Fliegler (no-hitter, 12 K’s)
Reinstein 2 RBI’s
Giordano 2 RBI’sGiordano 4th straight game with an extra base hit pic.twitter.com/Gs7vPVMSn3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 4, 2023
Despite having their season cut short by Mineola in the playoffs last year, the 2024 season looks bright for the Roslyn Bulldogs. Roslyn finished 8-8-1 in their league schedule in 2023. However, with a balanced lineup consisting of seniors and improving underclassmen, head coach Dan Freeman is optimistic for the team in the new year.
Mineola 8 Roslyn 3
WP: Andrew BaselAndrew Basel 2-2 HR 4RBI
Jack Ryan 3-3 RBI 5 SB
Mike Duda 2-3 2 RBI pic.twitter.com/1t8nTgQfVL— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 17, 2023
Five key players from the 2023 season are returning as starting seniors for the Bulldogs. Tyler Giordano, Lucas Weisser, Spyro Matarangas, Alex Sadofsky, and Zach Herman are expected to lead the way in their final season in Roslyn.
“They’ve all been on the team for 3+ years. They’ve known nothing but success playing for Roslyn. They’ve all been in the playoffs in their time here. They know what it takes to win big games, to beat good teams, and they know how hard this season is. I expect them to set the tone for the team; mentally and physically,” said Freeman.
Roslyn luckily only lost two starting seniors to graduation coming into this season, however, they were core pieces to the 2023 roster that got off to a hot 6-0 start. Matt Fliegler (2023) was their leadoff batter and their ace in the starting rotation. He now attends Cornell University. Fliegler and Weisser secured All-Conference awards in 2023 while Giordano was named All-League. Roslyn is also missing Harris Reinstein (2023) who batted in the middle of the order and played first base. He also won team MVP in 2023.
Diamond Award Winners:
Position Player: Tyler Cox, Clarke
Pitcher: Hayden Leiderman, Roslyn pic.twitter.com/DQq3ZyFGQc— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 30, 2021
“Two big losses but, you know, the guys have been working real hard to make up for it. They know how important they were to the team last year,” said Freeman.
Senior leadership is essential but so is the development of rising classes. Freeman is expecting a big leap this season from younger talent. Freddy Murad (2025) has exceptional speed that is trouble for the opposition when on base. Ethan Jeon (2026) is not new to batting at the top of the lineup. This year, he’ll also be expected to provide pitching. Cooper Forrest (2026) has worked hard in the offseason and will be rewarded with more playing time.
The main area of concern in the squad, according to Freeman, is the pitching depth. “I know we have guys that can throw. It’s all about do we have the depth. Our third starter, or our relievers, they’re going to have to perform this year. We made the playoffs last year but at times our pitching was not consistent.” On the flip side, Freeman expressed confidence when describing his team’s biggest strength.
“We are a very good hitting team and our hustle is also a strength of ours. We’ve been a good hitting team for the past couple years and the guys are only getting better. They work so hard and they take nothing for granted.”
Some teams seek vengeance or measure their team to certain rival schools coming into a new year but Roslyn is taking a different approach. Freeman’s principle heading into the season is taking it day by day, series by series.
“We understand our conference is very difficult which is what you want. You want to go against the best. You know playing teams like Garden City, Calhoun, Division. We try to keep our mindset very tunnel vision. All we’re focused on right now is the first series of the year,” Freeman said. “Good or bad, whatever happens, our motto is the season starts tomorrow.”
