BOONVILLE, NY - Some contests stand the test of time, cementing themselves as all-time classics. 

And rivalries often bring out a heightened competitive spirit that leads to historic performances. 

Boonville (20-20-1) defeated Utica (23-17-1) 18-17 at Hanson Aggregates Field last night, securing its second walk-off victory of the season. 

But a timely hit didn’t clinch the Lumberjacks’ triumph. 

Infielder Miguel Gonzalez, who recorded a walk-off single in Boonville’s 6-5 victory against Glens Falls June 14, stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and zero outs in the bottom of the tenth.  

And the Daytona State rising sophomore corked a pitch into foul territory with the Lumberjacks’ season on the line. Utica outfielder Nathan Estrada chased it down, grasping it in his mit. 

Pinch runner Riley Cahill – a starting pitcher who has thrown a team-high 35 innings – tagged up and dashed toward the plate.

Estrada didn’t have to catch the foul ball, especially since it tracked deep enough to warrant Cahill’s tag-up. 

The Yorba Linda, California, local threw to catcher Vincent Cowdrey, but he sailed the relay throw over Cowdrey’s outstretched glove. The ball rolled toward Utica’s dugout. 

The wild relay hit a Blue Sox player sitting outside the dugout’s safety fence, causing the umpire to call the ball out of play, which brought outfielder Jorge Olivera home for the game-winning run. It was the Blue Sox fifth error of the contest, setting a season-high, and the blunder cost them the game. 

And mistakes wasted Utica’s comeback attempt.

Boonville surrendered a seven-run lead that it boasted after the bottom of the first inning, with Chase Triplett launching his third home run of the season, all of which he notched against Utica. The Seminole State rising sophomore posted six RBIs against Utica to help power Boonville’s lineup, barreling a line-drive single that deflected off the right-field fence in the bottom of the third. Triplett has excelled particularly against the squad’s rival, plating 11 runners across the season series. 

The team also scored four runs on walks or hit-by-pitches – an affair where Boonville sported a season-high 17 free passes. 

The Blue Sox took their first lead of the contest in the top of the sixth, chipping away at the hefty lead that the Lumberjacks mounted. Their lineup plated five runs off reliever Will Markwood, who didn’t record a single out in his appearance. 

Reliever Anthony Schatz also struggled on the mound in his lone inning, surrendering four runs – his weakest outing since allowing six runs against the Blue Sox July 10. 

Utica sparked its comeback with two home runs – outfielder Ryan Ulisse and first baseman Sean Sousa posted their first blasts of the season against starting pitcher Payton Hochhalter. 

Hochhalter has surrendered a team-high four home runs this season on the mound, including two lead-off shots. The former quarterback flashes an effective breaking arsenal, but he has floated some pitches that opposing batters have hammered. The Jamestown, North Dakota, local forfeited four earned runs against the Blue Sox – his highest mark of the season. 

The Lumberjacks’ claimed the fourth-spot in the East Division, the division’s final postseason spot, with the victory. Yet, the Lumberjacks need the Diamond Dawgs to lose tonight in their contest against the Mohawks to officially clinch the team’s first postseason berth in franchise history. 

Boonville will face No. 1 seed Amsterdam Wednesday night at Rao Family Stadium if Mohawk Valley loses tonight.