Matt Hogan

by Vinny Messana Every great player needs a defining moment. For Matt Hogan that came on April 29 against Smithtown West. With his team, Half Hollow Hills East, trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh, the sophomore stepped up to plate with his buddy, Mike Palazzolo, on second base. He smacked a walk-off two-run shot to center field to give the Thunderbirds the 8-7 victory and hand Smithtown West one of their three losses this season. “I just happened to be the guy to get up at the plate and swing the bat,” said the uber-polite sophomore. While it’s true that he was the one with the bat in his hand, not many hitters in the northeast region–let alone League III in Suffolk County–can match what he can do at the plate. On his April 20 home run against Smithtown...