Groton — Nolan Kessinger of UMass singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Mystic Schooners beat the Danbury Westerners 5-4 in a New England Collegiate Baseball League game on Sunday night.

Under speed-up rules the bottom of the 10th started with Shane Kelly (Bryant) placed on second base. Matthew Toke (Seton Hall) singled Kelly over to third and Kessinger drove him in. The Schooners (7-2) took a 4-2 lead with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. David Beam (East Tennessee) had an RBI single to get Mystic on the board and former Montville standout TT Bowens (Central Connecticut) followed with a three-run homer.

Peter Myers (Hartford) picked up the win with a perfect 10th inning, striking out three.

Tigers fall

• The Vermont Lake Monsters scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning and held on to beat Connecticut 4-3, spoiling the Tigers' New York-Penn League home opener. The Tigers (1-2) trailed 4-2 entering the bottom of the ninth. Clark Brinkman scored on Jordan Verdon's groundout to make it 4-3 but Ildemaro Escalona struck out with runners on second and third to end the game. Brinkman singled, doubled and scored twice and Verdon drove in two runs. 

Junior Legion

• Niantic scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie and beat Tri-Town Red 7-6 in a Zone 6 game. Ty Chiasson and Ethan Vinelli had two hits each for Niantic (3-0) and Greg Morgan got the win in relief.

H.S. track

• Norwich Free Academy junior Paige Martin finished fifth in the pole vault on Friday at the New Balance Nationals at Greensboro, N.C. Martin went a personal-best 12-feet, 0.5-inches, which tied the school record. Martin won the ECC, Class LL and State Open titles in the pole vault and was second at the New England Meet.

District 10 LL (10-12) softball

• Mattie Bairstow hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning to help East Lyme rally to beat Salem/Bozrah, 4-3. East Lyme’s Allie Cabral tied the game with a two-run single in the sixth and winning pitcher Emma Bayor struck out 12. Violet Maziarz struck out seven in five innings for Salem/Bozrah and Zofia Maziarz doubled.

• Alexa Collins pitched a two-hitter with five strikeouts as Waterford beat Groton/Mystic, 2-0. Emilia Podeszwa singled home Emma Way for the winning run for Waterford. Hailey Merrill pitched a four-hitter with five strikeouts for Groton/Mystic and Maerin Lyon singled.