Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Max Edelman
After an 11-7 season that ended in his team dropping their first two playoff games, head coach of the Half Hollow Hills East RedHawks Tim Belz looked back on what was an up and down season for his team.
“We were a young team.” Belz said. “Where we started only one senior and had four ninth graders in the lineup and at times two or three sophomores and the rest were juniors.”
While the RedHawks will be full of youth this upcoming season, they did lose four seniors to graduation. Including Matt LeRose, who is attending Alvernia University, where he is continuing his baseball career.
Among returning players, Belz is looking for a big season from Nate Greene. Greene is committed to Rollins College, and was an all-league player in 2025. Last year, Greene hit .270 and primarily featured out of the bullpen, In his sophomore season, Greene went 4-1 on the mound. In the field, Greene starts at shortstop.
Nathan Greene(NY, Half Hollow Hills East, 2026) Rips one down the line pic.twitter.com/tOC1ULH5JY
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 1, 2024
“He’s very athletic.” Belz said. “He moves very well and has a very strong arm. He’s a switch hitter. He primarily featured out of the bullpen for us last year but started for us as a sophomore.”
Gianluca D’Amico is another name that Belz expects big things from going into this season. D’Amico is the game one starter for the RedHawks, and hit .423 last season. In the field, D’Amico is the team’s left fielder. Jacob Perlman, despite being only a sophomore, is entering his third season as a starter on the Hills East varsity team. Pearlman batted .450 in his eighth grade season. Last season, Pearlman hit .330 and went 4-1 with a 2.80 ERA on the mound.
Freshman JP Perlman gets the start for Hills East pic.twitter.com/3NnvfAEKsY
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 2, 2025
Jacob’s older brother Dean Perlman, is playing his senior season with the RedHawks, Perlman primarily plays first base and hit .290 in his junior season. Patrick Dalien, is also beginning his third season as a starter, despite only being a sophomore. Dalien hit .330 as an eighth grader and .260 last season.
“He’s a big, strong kid.” Belz said. “He has some pop, he’s been starting since his eighth grade season.”
Matteo Villa was an academic all league player last season, and hit over .310 last year. Sam Tom, was cited by Belz for his versatility. Tom hit .290 last year and can both catch and play the outfield. In terms of newcomers, Belz is excited about catcher Aiden Burke.
Unlike last season, this year’s Hills East team will be chock full of senior talent. With eight seniors, Belz believes that with more returning leadership than in years past, it could help his team take a big next step forward.
“We have more leadership this year than we’ve had in the past.” Belz said. “I am excited for that. Most of the underclassmen have been playing for two or three years now. We had some success last year. We moved down to league four this year so every game is going to be a battle. We’re probably one of our better teams that we’ve had in the last couple years but we’re in a tougher league so I’m looking forward to the leadership of the seniors, and the guys that are returning are battle tested.”
The Hills East RedHawks will open their season on March 31 against Copiague.
