Many people attribute beginner’s luck to initial success.

But Jay Gonzalez defied this notion. 

The Boonville first-year head coach just helped clinch the team’s first postseason berth in franchise history while capturing a franchise-most 20 wins this season. 

The Lumberjacks achieved 17 combined wins across the team’s first two years in the PGCBL prior to Gonzalez’s arrival.  

And the head honcho credits the historic season to the culture shift he helped spearhead. 

It wasn’t always an easy path for the squad, and Gonzalez had to rally the Lumberjacks through their 10-game losing streak, where they slipped from second place in the PGCBL East Division to fifth place in the span of just two weeks.

Boonville clinched the PGCBL East Division’s final playoff spot after Amsterdam defeated Mohawk Valley by a score of 11-7 tonight. 

The Lumberjacks found themselves three games behind the Diamond Dawgs with just three games left in the season. But the latter won out, and the former lost all its remaining contests. 

The squad’s players kept tabs on the affair between Amsterdam and Mohawk Valley throughout the night, competing in a home run derby at Hanson Aggregates Field to keep themselves loose. Rather than stress over the contest’s outcome, the Lumberjacks enjoyed their rest day by embracing the fun of the sport. 

Boonville is set to face No. 1 seed Amsterdam tomorrow at Rao Family Stadium, a team that Boonville outscored 30-16 across the squads’ four games against each other in the regular season.