LITTLE FALLS, NY - One play can dictate a game’s outcome. 

And all it took was one mistake to hand Boonville (17-16-1) its sixth-consecutive defeat in walk-off fashion, falling to the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs (20-15-1) 4-3 at Veterans Memorial Park tonight. 

Closer Riley Hasenstab attempted to pick off Diamond Dawg outfielder Ian Oehlschlaeger at second base in the bottom of the ninth, but the ball soared into the outfield. 

Outfielder Devan Meran raced to field the ball, but it rolled under his mit, tracking all the way to the center field warning track – the deepest part of the field. 

The Aventura, Florida, local relayed the throw the ball into the infield, but two Mohawk Valley baserunners reached home, tying the game at three apiece. 

And the scoring barrage wouldn’t stop there.

Mohawk Valley infielder Justin Hurd corked a double, and outfielder Jaden Ross flared a ball into the shallow outfield to deliver the final blow, plating the game-winning run.

Hasenstab had allowed just two runs in his previous 12 appearances, cementing himself as the Lumberjacks’ go-to closer. The Georgia Tech walk-on sports a 1.50 ERA – the second-lowest mark on the team – and has a team-high three saves. 

The Lumberjacks’ pitching staff excelled, boasting a season-high 16 strikeouts on the mound across just 33 Diamond Dawg at-bats. Southpaw Colton Sampson made his second start of the season and flashed his fastball along with his offspeed arsenal to fan 10 Diamond Dawg batters. 

Fellow southpaw Max Martzolf continued the trend, striking out four of the eight batters he faced in his relief outing.

Despite the pitching staff’s performance – which recovered after surrendering 12 runs in two-consecutive games – the lineup only mustered five hits and couldn’t add enough insurance for Hasenstab. 

Only three Lumberjacks’ batters recorded a hit against the Mohawk Valley pitching unit, with infielder Andy Perez and Meran leading the charge with multi-hit performances.

Meran rounded the bases on a season-first inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fifth to put the Lumberjacks up 3-1, driving a pitch into the left field gap, where Diamond Dawg outfielder John Calabrese slipped while pursuing the ball. 

The Lumberjacks still sit a full game ahead of the Blue Sox in the East Division standings, with both rivals vying for the final playoff spot. 

Boonville will face Utica for the tenth time this season tomorrow at Hanson Aggregates Field tomorrow night.