Every so often a coach will have a player that comes along that is really special. This type of player can hide the team’s deficiencies and perhaps win some games single-handedly.
\nIf the coach is lucky, this player will come along every 10 years or so.<\/p>\n

If he’s really lucky, he’ll have one every five years. But what Half Hollow Hills East<\/strong> Head Coach Tim Belz has is potentially three of these game-changers.<\/p>\n

Matt Hogan, Mike Palazzolo<\/strong> and Patch Dooley<\/strong> are all Div-I players. They have all shown that they are capable of carrying their team and they all play for the same team–that could spell trouble for League III.<\/p>\n

Hogan, a CF and pitcher, created tons of buzz this summer when he committed to national powerhouse Vanderbilt–as a freshman.<\/p>\n

“Hogan is a special player,” said Coach Belz. “He came up as an eighth grader. He can flat-out play–he does everything right.” Belz even joked about his childish demeanor off the field, saying he asked him last year if he still believes in Santa Clause. When he plays, he is a completely different person. He made a name for himself as an eighth grader when he smacked two line drives off the wall against Jon Faraci<\/strong> and Aaron Glickstein<\/strong> of Hills West–two of the best pitchers in Suffolk County at the time. He\u00a0hit .350, smacked three HR and led the team in triples and in RBI with 26.<\/p>\n