Groton — The inning began harmlessly.

Avery Point reliever Collin Bakken retired the first batter on a comebacker. The Pointers were two outs away from extending the NJCAA Division II East District tournament to a deciding game in the championship round.

Then their one-run lead and the game slipped away.

Monroe Community College of Rochester, N.Y., which had mustered only two hits entering extra innings, strung together four straight singles and took advantage of a throwing error in the 10th inning to score two runs and rally for a 4-3 win at Washington Park.

Sam Loew's one-out, walkoff single accounted for the winning run and sent Monroe (30-18) to the junior college World Series in Enid, Okla.

"Definitely not an easy one," Avery Point coach Mike Aldrich said of the season-ending loss.

Like they've done all season, the Pointers fought to the end and relied on a competitive heart that helped them win 30 games.

"You can just watch any game and tell that we never give it," sophomore Mike Savino said. "Coach harps on it all the time, be rabid dogs. And that's what we go by."

The odds were against them Monday, needing to beat Monroe twice to win the East District title. The Pointers were on the verge of staying alive, seizing a 3-2 lead on Alex Petchark's one-out single that scored Ryan Bagdasarian in the 10th inning.

But the Pointers couldn't close it out.

Avery Point starter Gary Costello battled his way through 5.2 innings, allowing only one hit — Jonathan Catapano's solo home run that tied the score at 2-2 in the sixth — while walking seven and striking out four. He allowed two runs, one earned.

Bakken, who was making his second multiple inning relief appearance of the two-day, double-elimination tournament, fought off fatigue to hold Monroe scoreless until the 10th. He pitched the final 3.2 innings and took the loss.

"Our pitching overall kept us in the ball game," Aldrich said.

Monroe, which won all three games in the tournament by playing aggressive, fundamentally-sound baseball, started its winning rally with Cas Sobaszek's one-out single. Sobaszek took off on a pitch in the dirt, reached third on a throwing error and scored on tournament most valuable player Andrew Czubaj's single.

After Phil Ferranti's base hit, Loew's single to left field scored Czubaj, who slid into the home with the winning run just ahead of the relay throw.

"All the credit to them," Aldrich said. "They beat us."

The Pointers committed some costly fielding mistakes. A two-out error led to an unearned run in the fourth. Costello didn't allow a hit but walked two batters in the inning.

They also failed to fully capitalize in a two-run third inning. The first four batters reached base, including Waterford's Mike Rocchetti, whose single drove in the game's first run. A wild pitch made it 2-0.

But Monroe starter Frankie Pizzo came back to strike out the side, stranding runners on second and third.

Avery Point outhit Monroe 7-6 with Mike DeRosa chipping in a single and double.

"We hit the ball all year, but we just didn't really come around on the big stage," Savino said. "That's how it goes."

The Pointers took the marathon route in the tournament, playing 30 innings overall, going extra innings twice, in three games.

Both of their losses came against Monroe, which posted a 9-6 win on Saturday to remain unbeaten. They finished 30-12-1 overall.

"I'm extremely proud of the guys," Aldrich said. "They bought into what we were teaching them 100 percent. They went to work and grinded in the snow, the rain, the sleet. I never questioned their attitude and their effort."

g.keefe@theday.com