Mathew Garib leads LuHi into NYSAIS semifinals from mound, at plate

Thanks in large part to junior Mathew Garib’s effort, the Long Island Lutheran baseball team is on the doorstep of a New York State Association of Independent Schools championship berth.

Garib allowed an unearned run, one hit and three walks in five innings to lead fourth-seeded LuHi to a 6-1 win over fifth-seeded Riverdale Country School of the Bronx on Friday afternoon in Brookville in the quarterfinals of the NYSAIS postseason tournament. He struck out four.

In the semifinals on Monday, LuHi will play the winner of Saturday morning’s game between top-seeded Dalton and eighth-seeded Horace Mann at the higher seed. Riverdale finished the season 10-7.

After allowing an unearned run in the top of the first inning, Garib crushed a long RBI double to centerfield to tie the score. He then stole third base before scoring the go-ahead run when sophomore leftfielder Dylan Lancberg punched a single through the middle of a drawn-in infield.

Lancberg stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Matthew Muzikant.

SEE PHOTOSPhotos: LuHi baseball in quarterfinals

LuHi (10-9) continued to tack on after that, but given the way Garib was pitching, any extra run support was a luxury.

“I was just trying to get fastballs in the strike zone and let my fielders do my work,” said Garib, who went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk, two steals, an RBI and a run scored. “I was just trying to get out of innings as quick as I can.”

He wasn’t particularly overpowering, but he induced weak contact throughout the game and mostly worked within the strike zone, finishing with 44 strikes in 74 pitches.

His highlight on the mound was a three-pitch inning in the second. He did so by inducing a 5-4-3 double-play ground ball to end the frame and erase a leadoff single.

Garib’s fifth and final inning all but sealed the win, as he worked around an error that put two runners in scoring position with only one out. He stranded the pair by getting a strikeout and flyout against Riverdale’s top two hitters to preserve a 5-1 lead.

“I just didn’t overdo myself and stayed calm,” he said. “I just did what I usually do.”

Cole Thomas relieved Garib and finished the game with two perfect innings and three strikeouts.

Frederick Von Bargen went 2-for-2 with a double, two RBIs and a sacrifice fly. Both hits came with two strikes and two outs, with each going to the opposite field. He also made a diving catch in the second. “It feels good to be able to move on,” Von Bargen said. “It was great to help contribute.”

Second baseman Kayden Bates had a big day out of the leadoff spot, going 1-for-2 with a nine-pitch walk, a ground-rule double, two steals and a run. He also robbed a hit with a diving play in the top of the first.