Press release
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. – For the first time since 2018 there will be a first-time champion in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). The East’s #3 seed Utica Blue Sox and top-seeded West Champions Batavia Muckdogs will face off on Friday evening in a single championship game in Batavia.
The Blue Sox continued their road run with a 10-2 upset of top-seeded Amsterdam on Thursday evening. They will head to Batavia on Friday for a 6:30 PM first pitch, hoping to win their third straight game as the lower seed. Utica upset #2 seed Saugerties on Monday in their opening round game, and then took a 10-1 lead against the Mohawks through the first six innings on their way to reaching their second ever PGCBL championship series (2016).
Batavia defeated Jamestown 6-4 on Tuesday evening in the West Championship, but had to wait to see who their opponent was, as the East Final was delayed for two straight days due to heavy rains. As a result, the PGCBL Championship Series will be truncated from a best-of-three to a single championship game.
The Muckdogs handled Auburn 12-1 Monday night to advance to the West Finals and reached their second consecutive league championship with their win over the Tarp Skunks.
This will be the third trip to the PGCBL championship for Batavia, who were defeated in a dramatic two-game series by the Saugerties Stallions last year. The Muckdogs were beaten in three games by Amsterdam during the 2022 PGCBL championship series. Utica’s only other appearance in the championship was also against the Mohawks, who won two games to none in 2016.
Tomorrow night’s winner will become just the sixth different franchise to be crowned PGCBL champions in the 15 seasons that have been played. The Jamestown Jammers (2018) were the last team to win the championship outside of Amsterdam and Saugerties. The Newark Pilots won the league in its first year of existence (2011), while the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs were crowned champs in 2015 and 2017.
2026 PGCBL Playoff Schedule
Monday, July 27 – Semifinals (Single-Game Elimination)
East
#1 Amsterdam 5, #4 Oneonta 2
#3 Utica 5, #2 Saugerties 3
West
#1 Batavia 12, #4 Auburn 1
#2 Jamestown 8, #3 Elmira 0
Tuesday, July 28th – West Division Finals (Single-Game Elimination)
#1 Batavia 6, #2 Jamestown 4
Thursday, July 30th – East Division Finals (Single-Game Elimination)
#3 Utica Blue Sox 10, #1 Amsterdam Mohawks 2
Friday, July 31st – PGCBL Championship
East #3 Utica Blue Sox at West #1 Batavia Muckdogs, 6:30 PM