The Utica Blue Sox have ended a stretch without advancing in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) playoffs.

With help from a 7-1 victory over the Auburn Doubledays on Sunday evening, the Blue Sox advanced to the second round of the PGCBL playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The team didn’t advance to the playoffs in 2017 or 2018. The league didn’t participate in 2020 due to challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four teams each from the PGCBL’s Eastern and Western divisions advance to the postseason.

Utica, the second seed in the Western Division after finishing the regular-season with a 27-19 record, advanced to play in the one-game division finals against the Batavia Muckdogs on Monday evening. Batavia finished the regular-season with the best record in the West. Monday’s game was in progress at press time. The finals is a best-of-three series and is expected to start Tuesday.

In Sunday’s game, Auburn grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning before Utica took the lead for good on a two-run home run by Lukas Schramm in the bottom of the fourth with no outs.

Utica extended the lead in the next inning when Troy Hamilton (USC Upstate) scored on an unearned run with two outs. Utica added two runs in each of the 7th and 8th innings.

Hamilton reached base in each of his at-bats, walking four times and scoring two runs.

Evan Esche (St. Thomas) allowed eight hits and one run while walking one and striking out six in the no-decision. Sam Thompson (Marshall) allowed three hits in four innings of relief. He walked three and struck out six.

The Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs were eliminated from the playoffs with a 6-4 loss in 12 innings to Saugerties in the first round on Saturday.

Saugerties scored three times in the 12th and then held off Mohawk Valley in the bottom half of the game. Saugerties won the PGCBL title in 2021.