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Muzikant Deals His Way to a State Championship for LuHi over Horace Mann

by John Sullivan

SUNY Purchase was the site of the NYSAIS championship clash between No. 1 LuHi from Brookville and No. 2 Horace Mann from the Bronx. As you would expect from two perennial contenders, the game started with a bang, as Horace Mann’s lead off hitter Augie Grimstad legged out a ground ball down the first base line for a triple off of Monmouth-commit and LuHi starting pitcher, Matthew Muzikant. Eight grader Simon Shaham followed up the triple with a groundout to second to score Grimstad. Muzikant then notched two quick outs, but Horace Mann held an early 1-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the first, junior Zach Schwartz got the ball for Horace Mann with LuHi eager to respond. After a line out from lead off batter TJ Bozumato, Kayden Bates reached first via infield single. This brought up Matthew Garib, who hit what looked like was an inning ending double play, but ended up being an E6 that allowed Bates to reach third and Garib to reach second. With two runners in scoring position, cleanup batter Jayden Houser did his job and ripped a line drive into center field for a two RBI single that gave Luhi a 2-1 lead that they carried into the second inning. 

In the second, Matt Muzikant seemed to be very comfortable with his new lead. After getting two quick outs, he forced an easy pop out to short on Jacob Charney for a stress free inning. Needing to respond, Zach Schwartz did just that by tossing a 1-2-3 inning of his own with two strikeouts to end the second down only one.

In his third inning of work, Muzikant continued to pound the zone and get quick outs. After a groundout to third, fly out to center and a strikeout against Augie Grimstad, Muzikant had his second straight 1-2-3 inning. Schwartz started his third inning of work off well also, with a K against Luhi’s lead off batter, TJ Bozumato. Kayden Bates then caught the Horrace Mann defense by surprise with a perfect bunt for a single. Matthew Garib then flew out to center, and Bates stole second, and advanced to third on a wild throw from the catcher. With Bates on third, Schwartz lost the zone for two batters and walked Jayden Houser and Vincent Bourne. But with the bases juiced and a chance for LuHi to break the game open, Schwartz executed and eventually blew a fastball by Mario Argentina for his sixth K of the game and to keep it 2-1 heading into the fourth. 

Simon Shaham led off the fourth for Horace Mann and became their first base runner since the first at bat of the game to reach base after he beat out a chopper for an infield single. Muzikant responded with a strikeout of opposing pitcher Zach Schwartz, but then balked and threw a wild pitch to allow Shaham to advance to third. With the tying run 90 feet away, Matt Fratepietro came up clutch for a Horrace Man with an RBI single into center to make it 2-2. Muzikant then killed Horrace Mann’s hopes of taking the lead by inducing a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Henry Gill. In the bottom of the fourth now pitching in a tie game, Zach Schwartz still seemed very comfortable. He notched a quick 1-2-3 inning after a strikeout swinging and two weak fly outs.

The fifth inning got off to a great start for Horace Mann, as Dvorett wore a hit by pitch to start it off. The two innings Horace Mann had scored in saw their lead off man reach, and they seemed bound to score again after a balk from Muzikant. In a tough situation, Muzikant didn’t back down and continued to attack, which led to a pop out, strikeout swinging, and finally a groundout to short to keep the game tied at 2. In the bottom of the fifth, Schwartz seemed like he was going to cruise to another 1-2-3 inning for Horace Mann until that was interrupted by Matthew Garib, who poked a single into right field with two outs. Jayden Houser then also kept the inning alive by working a walk and executing a double steal with Garib to make it second and third. With two outs, Vincent Bouren stepped up to the plate needing only a single to give his team the lead in the state championship game. Under high pressure, Bourne delivered even more than he needed to by driving a ball into the deep right center field gap that he legged out for a three-run inside the park home run! The fans and dugout exploded, and LuHi took a 5-2 lead into the sixth. 

In his sixth inning of work and now with a three run cushion, LuHi’s ace Muzikant seemed stronger than ever on the mound, as he ran through Horace Mann’s top of the order with two strikeouts and a weak groundout back to himself. With Zach Schwartz now out of the game for Horace Mann, LuHi looked to add onto their lead and they got off to a good start after a lead off double from Cameron Coco and a single from TJ Borzumato that he advanced to second on. With two runners in scoring position, Kayden Bates delivered a single the other way that scored two and extended Luhi’s lead to 7-2. Bates then attempted to steal third, and wound up coming in to score after a wild throw from the catcher. Even with a 6-run lead, LuHi stayed aggressive and Horace Mann began to fall apart, as Garib reached on an E6 and came around to score on a Houser double. After reaching on another E6 that scored Houser, Bourne came around to score when he took off from third on an unsuccessful appeal to second base that he had left early on the previous play. Luhi was up 11-2 with just three outs to go. 

Matthew Muzikant took the mound in the seventh looking to finish off his complete game, and he made it look easy. He induced a groundout from Matt Fratepietro and struck out both Henry Gill and Miles Dvorett to capture the 2026 NYSAIS championship for the LuHi Crusaders. After the game, we spoke to Muzikant about how he prepare for a big game like this and why he executed so well under pressure.