Defending Champs Mohawks Top East Division as Final Four Set
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. – It took until the last day of the regular season to finalize the bracket, but the East Division semifinals are now set, with both games taking place tomorrow at the sites of the top two seeds.
The top-seeded Amsterdam Mohawks (31-11-2) will host #4 seed Boonville Lumberjacks (20-20-1), who clinched the final playoff spot with Amsterdam's victory over Mohawk Valley on Tuesday evening. That game will take place at Shuttleworth Park at 6:45 PM. Amsterdam and Boonville split the season series, with each team winning two games against the other.
In the other East semifinal, the 2nd seeded Saugerties Stallions (28-13-1) will host the #3 Utica Blue Sox (23-18-1) at 7:05 PM at Cantine Field. The Stallions won four of the five matchups between the two teams this season, including a 19-9 victory tonight on the same field where the teams will meet again less than 24 hours from now.
West Division Update
On the other side of the bracket, the top two seeds held as #1 Batavia defeated #4 Auburn 6-1 and #2 Jamestown defeated #3 Niagara Falls 12-2.
The Muckdogs will host the Tarp Skunks tomorrow at 6:30 PM in the West Division Final.
East Division Teams Playoff History
The most successful team in league history, Amsterdam comes into the 2025 postseason as the three-time defending champions. The Mohawks clinched their fourteenth straight East Division crown this year, dating back to their entry in 2011 as one of the founding members of the PGCBL. Amsterdam ran off three straight league championships from 2012-14 and also won titles in 2016 and 2019 prior to their current threepeat.
Saugerties won the PGCBL championship in 2021 and are making their fifth straight playoffs appearance. The Stallions defeated Amsterdam 2-0 in the 2021 championship series, but the next year were defeated by the Mohawks in the semifinals as Amsterdam went on to win their first of three straight crowns. Saugerties reached the semifinals again in 2024 and this year finished as the #2 seed in the East for the second consecutive season.
Utica is into the playoffs for the sixth straight year and is looking to get back into the win column after a first round exit in 2024. Prior to that, the Blue Sox made back to back trips to the league semifinals, falling to Amsterdam in 2023 and to Batavia in 2022.
The Lumberjacks clinched their first ever PGCBL postseason appearance under the Boonville name, which they took on in 2022, first as the Boonville Baseball Club. Prior to that, the franchise, known as the Adirondack Trail Blazers, reached the league championship series in 2019, defeating Utica and Geneva before falling to Amsterdam in the finals.
2025 PGCBL East Division Playoff Schedule
Wednesday, July 30 - Semifinals (Single-Game Elimination)
#1 Amsterdam vs #4 Boonville @ Amsterdam, 6:45 PM
#2 Saugerties vs #3 Utica @ Saugerties, 7:05 PM
Thursday, July 31st - East Finals (Single-Game Elimination)
Lowest Remaining Seed at Highest Remaining Seed, TBD
Friday, August 1st – Sunday, August 3rd
PGCBL Championship
Best of 3 game series between East & West Division winners. Locations and dates to be determined by participating teams and the league office