by Trevor Dugan
We spoke to tournament co-MVPs Andrew Caramico and Matthew Muzikant following their championship win and final game as members of Next Level Sandlot pic.twitter.com/w64UVkwBhh
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 19, 2025
It was a pitchers’ duel between two Division-I bound hurlers in the Sunday evening matchup between Next Level Sandlot and the Baseball Warehouse Grizzlies Black to decide the Antonia Agostinelli Memorial Tournament 18u championship.
St. Johns-commit Andrew Caramico pitched five scoreless innings for Next Level, recording seven strikeouts and allowing just two hits. Warehouse Grizzlies starter Luke Malamug matched him with five scoreless innings of his own, striking out five. Malamug will play Division-I baseball at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
In the top of the first, the Grizzlies were able to put their first two runners on base thanks to a leadoff walk and infield single. Caramico worked around the baserunners by striking out the next two batters and forcing a groundout to end the inning. Malamug saw immediate success in the bottom of the frame, striking out the Next Level leadoff man. He quickly retired the side despite an error from his shortstop, and sent the game into the second inning scoreless.
Caramico had his best strikeout stuff working in the top of the second, striking out three of the four batters he faced. The hard throwing right hander told Axcess Baseball that he was “fastball dominant” during his five innings of work.
“Every time I threw a fastball I knew I could blow it by them,” Caramico explained. “My slider was working too, it was a great day.”
Next Level came within inches of scoring their first run in the bottom of the second. Richie LaVacca singled with one out, then stole second to put himself in scoring position. Next to bat was Matthew Garib, who hit a single to shallow left field. LaVacca attempted to score on the hit, but was cut down at the plate by a great throw from Grizzlies SS Gavin Slicner. The game remained scoreless heading into the third inning.
The Grizzlies threatened in the top of the third, putting two men on base thanks to a single by Dom Innocenti and a walk by Slicner. With one out and traffic on the bases, Innocenti was caught between second and third and picked off for the second out. Caramico finished the inning off with a strikeout to end the scoring threat.
Another Next Level runner was thrown out at home in the bottom of the third inning. Back-to-back walks by Matthew Muzikant and Jaden Alvarez and a passed ball put runners on the corners with no outs. With Michael Cotto at the plate, Alvarez got into a rundown between first and second base. Muzikant broke for the plate from third base, but was caught on a strong throw by Grizzlies’ first baseman Connor Murphy. Malamug then struck out Cotto and got the next batter to ground out to end the inning.
In the fourth, both pitchers threw 1-2-3 innings. At this point in the game it seemed as though the first team to score would come away with the victory. It was more of the same in the fifth as each starter faced just four batters apiece. It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth that this contest’s first runs would come across.
The sixth inning saw both starting pitchers removed from the game. Matthew Muzikant entered in relief of Caramico in the top of the sixth, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Malamug was removed in the bottom of the sixth, but the Grizzlies’ reliever did not find as much success as his Next Level counterpart. Jayden Gigante walked to start the inning, then Jaden Valdez was hit in the ribs to put two men on base with no outs. After a double steal put both runners in scoring position, St. John Fisher-commit Jack Murphy hit a ball to SS to drive in the first run of the game for either side. Next Level would strike for one more in the sixth when Adelphi-commit Richie LaVacca hit a sac fly to center field to make it 2-0. The Grizzlies would have one more chance to make something happen against Muzikant in the top of the seventh.
It appeared as though Muzikant was heading for his second consecutive inning out of the bullpen as he struck out the first two batters of the top of the seventh. However, a ground rule double by Louis Rizzolo put a man in scoring position with two outs, which was followed by another double by Adrian Lutomski to drive the runner home and cut the lead to 2-1. The Grizzlies now had the tying run in scoring position. Next, Connor Murphy knocked a slow chopper up the middle and beat the throw to first putting runners on the corners, giving Michael Gurovich the chance to be a hero.
Warehouse Grizzlies Black’s rally comes up just short as Matthew Muzikant records the save to secure the tournament championship for Next Level Sandlot
FINAL: Next Level 2 – Warehouse Grizzlies Black 1 pic.twitter.com/tH7WPfkHe8
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 19, 2025
With the tying run just 90 feet away, Muzikant dialed in and got the strikeout to stop the rally in its tracks and earn Next Level the tournament championship. Muzikant was named co-MVP of the Agostinelli Memorial Tournament along with teammate Andrew Caramico. The championship victory marks the final time this group of players will play together for Next Level Sandlot, as they head into their senior seasons and eventual college careers. Head Coach Sean Manning had nothing but good things to say about this group of players he describes as “special.”
“I can’t talk enough about this group, we’ve been together three years and pretty much everyone is committed,” Manning told Axcess. “There’s three kids that aren’t yet, but all of them have offers coming, so we should have a fully committed team by the end of the fall.”
“It’s due to hard work, these kids are working everyday and they want to be here. Nationally, on the island, throughout the tri-state area, we’ve won everywhere we go and we’ve had seven different players win tournament MVPs,” Manning continued. “It’s a testament to how good these kids are, in a time where it’s very tough to get kids committed, we’ve had eight Division I commits and a bunch of other commits.”
“It speaks to how hard these kids work. We give them a platform, we give them a roadmap and they’ve done a really good job following it,” Manning concluded. “This particular group has won 12 total championships and made it to 17 finals, so it’s a pretty good legacy these guys are leaving behind.”
