For the second straight game, Mystic's bullpen came to the rescue and helped deliver a victory in the New England Collegiate Baseball League playoffs.

Mike O'Reilly entered the game two of the Southern Division first round series in the second inning Tuesday night and pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball in relief of starter Sam Nepiarsky (UConn).

His stellar effort gave the Schooners time to overcome an early deficit and post a 7-6 over host New Bedford for a sweep of the best-of-three series.

"Mike O'Reilly turned in a game for the ages," Mystic manager Phil Orbe said. "He just really dominated the game and stabilized it for us."

Mystic, the No. 2 seed, will either visit top-seeded Newport or host No. 4 Ocean State in the Southern Division championship series opener on Thursday. Newport beat Ocean State 8-4 on Tuesday to force a deciding third game on Wednesday.

The Schooners jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first against New Bedford starter Justin Thomas, who had beaten Mystic twice during the regular season. Ben Ruta (Wagner) and Richard Slenker (Yale) hit consecutive RBI triples while Lou Iannotti (Quinnipiac) had a sacrifice fly and Aaron Hill (UConn) added an RBI double.

New Bedford answered with five runs in the second to take a one-run lead.

With both starters out of the game, the two bullpens took over. O'Reilly seized control of the game, allowing just one hit, walking two and striking out nine. O'Reilly attends Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., and was named the Peach Belt Conference pitcher of the year.

"It was a battle of the bullpens," Orbe said. "I'll take our bullpen over anybody's in the league. That's how much confidence we have in it."

Mystic tied the game on Nick Mascelli's first home run of the season. The big blast came with two outs.

"That was a huge momentum shift for us," Orbe said.

The Schooners took the lead for good on Jesse Berardi's RBI groundout in the fifth. He added an RBI single in the seventh for a 7-5 edge.

Reliever Jason Foley (Sacred Heart) pitched the last two innings, allowing a run in the eighth, and earned the save.

The bullpen has been a strength for the Schooners all season.

In Monday's 14-5 win in the series opener, the trio of Joe Rivera (UConn), Ryan Thomas (Marist) and Sean Keenan (Marist) combined to allow one run and three hits in 5.1 innings, walking one and striking out seven.

The top three batters in the order – Mascelli (2-for-4, 1 RBI), Ruta (1-for-5, 1 RBI) and Slenker (3-for-5, 1 RBI) – helped power a 10-hit attack.

Mystic will be making its second appearance in the Southern Division Championship series in three years. 

SEC Babe Ruth (16-18) baseball

• Waterford defeated Tri-County 8-2 in the Southeastern Connecticut Babe Ruth (16-18) tournament. Cody Cleary and Tyler Howser combined on a four-hitter with six strikeouts while Cleary led a balanced Waterford offense with two hits, including a home run. Howser, Frank Zawacki and Matt Patton also had two hits apiece, Dylan Konakowitz tripled and Edgar Centeno and Tommy Feliciano added doubles. Jared Macha had two hits for Tri-County.

State LL (9-10) softball

• Westport won the Connecticut Little League (9-10) softball tournament on Monday night in Orange with a 3-1 victory over Waterford. Westport won the best-of-three series 2-1. Abby Maynard and Tori Kiefer had two hits each for Waterford, with Maynard driving in Autumn Brothers (walk) with its lone run. Anna Donahue doubled while Milena Walker, Lucy D'Amico and Maddie Burrows each had a hit. Walker pitched a no-hitter in the loss, striking out nine.