New London — Mitchell College put a dent in its biggest roadblock to a New England Collegiate Conference baseball championship.

The Mariners completed a three-game series sweep with a 7-5 victory over Lesley University on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Field.

"Huge," senior Garet Griffin said. "They were the top team in the conference until now. ... This is the series that we've been looking forward to since the championship last year. That was one that we wanted to win real bad."

The painful memory of last year's stunning NECC title game loss still lingers for veterans like Griffin. Lesley won on a walk-off grand slam, preventing Mitchell from its fourth straight crown.

This week's series success started with a doubleheader road sweep on Tuesday.

The Mariners (24-7, 12-2) took over first place from Lesley (22-8, 11-4) and gained the inside edge to secure the regular-season crown and host the conference tournament next week.

While enjoying his team's favorable position with four regular season games to go, Mitchell coach Travis Beausoleil knows better than to celebrate.

Lesley's ace Tom Muratore, who's first in the NECC in earned run average (1.35) and wins (eight), didn't pitch in the series.

"We obviously came out on top but we know we're going to see them again in the tournament," Beausoleil said. "The good thing is, we're in the tournament."

Beausoleil tried not to put any extra emphasis on the series. He took the usual approach, telling his team to focus on what they're doing and not their opponent.

"I don't care if it is Lesley or the New York Yankees, I want our guys competing the same way every time," Beausoleil said.

Beausoleil's approach has worked well during his successful coaching career. It also helps that he can roll out a potent lineup.

Griffin, the league leader in batting average (.417) and RBI (40), did his share of the damage on Thursday, belting two solo home runs.

His first blast came right after senior Kyle Hartenstein's two-run homer handed the Mariners the lead for good, 5-3, during a three-run fourth inning. The lethal top of the order combined for eight of the team's 13 hits and drove in six runs. Eric Marriott and James Rangel both had two hits and an RBI.

The Mariners outscored the Lynx 17-7 in the three games. They're batting .345 as a team this season.

Eight of their nine starters are hitting at least .321.

"The weather is getting a little better and guys are starting to swing it a little better," Griffin said. "It's deeper in the season and guys are making their adjustments. I think people are getting hot at the right time and hopefully we can keep riding that."

Beausoleil pointed to two other numbers that were key to the series sweep. The Mariners issued just three walks and committed only one error in the three games.

"We didn't give much away," Beausoleil said. "What we've been preaching to the staff is that these teams aren't offensive enough to beat us. Make them beat us. ... We're tough team to beat when we're not giving bases away."

An encouraging sign was the work of reliever Roland Thivierge, who's battled an injury this season. He earned the win, pitching a season-high five innings and allowing two runs and four hits while striking out one. He didn't issue a walk.

The Mariners will need as many healthy and effective arms as possible to achieve their championship goal.

They close out the regular season by visiting Elms College for a three-game series this weekend and then play at Becker College early next week.

"Everyone in the conference wants to beat us," Griffin said. "You've got to make sure you're always on your game. Don't take anyone lightly because if you drop one, you might not end up hosting (the conference tournament). We don't want that."

g.keefe@theday.com