Roslyn's Hayden Leiderman wins Diamond Award as Nassau's best pitcher

Of all the great games that Hayden Leiderman pitched in the 2021 regular season, it was the second of the Roslyn righty’s three straight one-hitters that stood out in his coach’s mind. That was a win against South Side, a signature start worthy of autographs.

"They were coming in undefeated," Dan Freeman said. "We had just swept Manhasset. (South Side was) in first place. (Newsday was) at the game. There were scouts. There were more people that attended a Roslyn game than I’d ever seen before.

"And he proceeded to strike out the first six players and took a no-hitter going into the seventh inning against the first-place, undefeated team. He ended the game with no runs, one hit, no unearned runs, either. So that was an amazing, amazing performance."

It was an amazing, amazing season for Leiderman. The senior went 6-0 with six complete-game shutouts in six regular-season starts as the ace of a team that claimed its first conference title in 28 years. The only team that scored against him and beat him was actually South Side in the Nassau III semis, where the Bulldogs bowed out at 14-4.

Now Leiderman has added one more victory. He has won a Diamond Award as Nassau County’s top pitcher.

"It’s really special, not just for myself, but for my family, my teammates, my school," Leiderman said. "It’s not as common around here that we get awards like that, and I definitely couldn’t have done it without them, without all the catches in the yard with my dad (Darren), without my teammates’ support and all my friends and coaches around here."

Leiderman fanned 52 and walked four in 38 innings across those first six starts. He allowed only 11 hits. He also started at short and batted .522 with 22 RBIs in the regular season. But zero runs allowed was his most eye-catching stat.

"I didn’t necessarily expect not giving up any runs, but I knew it was definitely within my capabilities," Leiderman said. "I worked really hard for this."

Indeed the slider he developed helped his progression into a force. He also threw a little harder — 87 mph — after getting bigger and stronger, filling out to 165 pounds on a 5-11 frame.

Freeman said Leiderman called his own game, and that he "dissects batters better than any player I’ve ever seen." Freeman added that Leiderman, who owned a weighted 103.9 GPA coming into his senior year, is "one of the most intelligent baseball players I’ve had."

His next stop will be the University of Chicago, where he will study economics and pitch in D-III. He also has hopes to continue as a two-way player, and to become a major-league prospect.

"If that’s what the end result is, that would be amazing," Leiderman said. "And if it’s not, I’m prepared to go to the next stage of my life in another way, too."