Warwick, R.I. – When Nick Perrelli finished his home run trot in the seventh inning Sunday, he tapped helmets with his greeting party at the plate.

Hats off also went to the UConn-Avery Point's explosive offense.

After suffering through a power shortage for the first two-thirds of the season, the Pointers are lighting up opposing pitchers, spraying the ball all over the field and over the fence, too.

Perrelli's three-run home run and Ledyard High School graduate Jordan Kowalski's solo shot helped fuel Avery Point's offensive fireworks in a 13-5 victory over rival Community College of Rhode Island.

The victory completed a three-game weekend series sweep and earned Avery Point home field advantage for the NJCAA Division II New England tournament.

The Pointers (25-9) scored eight or more runs in each of the three wins.

"I felt we had more than we had shown," coach Roger Bidwell said. "Part of it was the bad weather and another part was we needed more time. We seem to be getting our timing a little bit better.

"We've got another two weeks before the playoffs. We've got to find a way to keep it going."

Avery Point is getting contributions from all over its lineup. Six different players drove in runs on Sunday, with Avery Santos (four hits, three RBI) and Perrelli (four hits, four RBI) leading the way. The Pointers finished with 12 hits and also came through in the clutch, driving in nine runs with two outs.

Sophomore Andrew Hinckley, the winning pitcher and benefactor of Sunday's outburst, aided his own cause with a single, double and an RBI.

"It makes it a lot easier, definitely," Hinckley said of the run support. "We've always been working on hitting. It just seems like we're coming around. ... We're just being aggressive, that's what it comes down to."

Hinckley also earned the Iron Man Award.

A day after catching both ends of Avery Point's doubleheader sweep, Hinckley pitched seven innings, allowing three runs and seven hits while striking out nine and walking four.

"We were concerned about him because he caught two games (Saturday)," Bidwell said. "He wasn't as crisp today as he normally is, but he's still good."

Outside of tired legs, Hinckley survived just fine.

"I've never done it before," Hinckley said. "Whatever the team needs, you've just got to do it."

His great escape in the fourth inning was almost lost in the offensive display.

Hinckley took the mound just after his team handed him a 6-2 lead with a five-run rally. Santos and Kyle Hart each had two-run singles and Nick Landell added a sacrifice fly.

CCRI threatened, loading the bases on three singles. Hinckley squashed the threat by retiring Dave Hopkins for the final out.

"That was a huge inning," said Hinckley a sophomore right-hander from East Haven. "Once you get out of an inning like that, it eases things."

The Pointers broke open the game with four runs in the sixth, sending 10 batters to the plate. The inning started with two straight outs and then seven straight Pointers reached base, starting with Kowalski's solo home run over the center field fence. Hinckley, Perrelli and Santos added RBI singles.

"He's got some power," Bidwell said of Kowalski. "We knew it. He's learned on the job here. He's a raw player with some tools. He's always been a football player and baseball player second."

Avery Point and CCRI will meet again Saturday, playing a doubleheader at Washington Park in Groton. And they will play in the Division II New England tournament the following weekend at either Washington Park or Dodd Stadium.

Bidwell is not putting too much stock in his team's weekend sweep.

"We want to try to keep getting better and win every game we show up," Bidwell said. "The object is to get better every day. Whether we clinched or not, my approach is going to be the same."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe