Groton — UConn Avery Point had a drama-filled opening day in the NJCAA Division II East District baseball tournament.

The Pointers won their first game on a Justin Keating walk-off home run in the 11th inning.

In game two, they had the tying run at the plate before falling, 9-6, on Sunday.

"It was a long day," Avery Point coach Mike Aldrich said. "Wish it ended a little bit better."

Avery Point (30-11-1) advances to the championship round Monday. It will have to beat Monroe Community College (29-18) twice to win the three-team, double-elimination tournament. Baseball action begins at noon at Washington Park.

Monroe remains unbeaten after eliminating Westchester Community College, 7-2, and knocking off Avery Point behind the stellar pitching of right-hander Eric O'Brien, who struck out 11 and allowed three runs in eight innings.

Trailing 9-3 in the ninth, Avery Point made it interesting by taking advantage of four walks to score three runs. A wild pitch led to the first run. Mike Savino beat out an infield single to drive in a run and Mike Chiovitti drew a bases-loaded walk.

But Alex Petchark of Waterford flew out to right with the bases loaded to end the game.

"It's a tribute to these boys who've been working so hard for so long," Aldrich said of the comeback attempt. "They have character and they're tough kids. They're grinders."

Three errors contributed to Avery Point's demise. Monroe built a six-run lead through five innings against starter Trevor Bolduc of Mystic. Jonathan Catapano's two-run home run pushed the gap to 7-1.

"It all starts with catching the ball," Aldrich said. "It was unfortunate that we didn't do a great job with that."

Chiovitti's two-run home run in the sixth cut the gap to 7-3. But the Pointers couldn't complete the comeback. Ryan Bagdasarian added an RBI single.

Keating, the former Waterford standout, was the hitting star in a 13-10 win over Westchester in game one. He picked a perfect time to belt his first two home runs of the season and finished with three hits overall.

His solo blast in the ninth tied the score at 10-all and forced extra innings. Then he set off a celebration with a three-run home run with nobody out in the 11th. Collin Bakken of Waterford earned the win.

Brayden Cooney chipped in a three-run home run.

"It was a special game to be a part of," Aldrich said. "We talked before today that the group that was going to win this thing was going to be the tougher group mentally. We did a great job of weathering those emotional highs and emotional lows in the first game. ... We just stayed with the blue collar mentality that these guys have had all year."

Avery Point will go back to work Monday against Monroe, hoping for another long day but with a happier ending.

g.keefe@theday.com