New London — Relying on guts, heart and adrenaline, senior Cam Varney battled his way through the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday while trying to close out the Great Northeast Athletic Conference baseball championship series.

Varney leaned on his previous pressure-packed tournament experience. And Mitchell College coach Shawn Gilblair had faith in his senior right-handed pitcher despite a high pitch count.

“Coach G told me it was my game,” Varney said. “I was very excited and felt the nerves.”

Varney finished off Johnson & Wales to give Mitchell a 5-4 victory and earn the program’s ninth NCAA tournament trip, including fourth straight, but not without some drama.

After a four-run lead dipped to one, Varney struck out Owen Davis with his 144th pitch of the game with the potential tying run on second base, setting off a joyous celebration at Alumni Field.

Gilblair never considered pulling Varney.

“I trust Cam whole-heartedly and I believe with his back against the wall, he was going to get it done for the team,” Gilblair said.

The victory completed a two-game sweep of the best-of-three championship series and handed the Mariners (32-11) the GNAC championship in their inaugural season in the league.

Varney was named the tournament’s most valuable player. He tossed a complete game on Friday, allowing seven hits and four runs while striking out nine and walking four a day after recording the final five outs to get the save in a 3-1 series opening win.

The Mariners also received valuable contributions from two Montville High School graduates, as freshman Chas Terni Jr. belted two solo home runs and senior Robbie DelaCruz slugged a two-run home run during a three-run eighth inning. DelaCruz, freshman Michael Ficocelli and junior Chris Gibbs, the winning pitcher in Thursday’s championship round opener, made the all-tournament team.

In his first year as a head coach, Gilblair remained relatively subdued during the celebration until cutting loose while meeting with his team in left field.

“We talk all the time about staying even, but I’m certainly enjoying this right now,” Gilblair said. “I’m really proud of all these guys, the buy-in, the culture. … These guys came in and fought, scratched and clawed every single day and they did more. They put the work in to get to this point.”

Stellar pitching and an improved defense helped carry the Mariners, who allowed only five runs and made no errors in the championship series.

It took time for Mitchell’s bats to come to life.

Outside of Terni’s first home run in the fifth inning, Mitchell struggled to make hard contact against JWU starter Aidan Vining, who pitched well. But Vining started to tire in the eighth and the Mariners took advantage, scoring three times to break a tie and take a 4-1 lead.

Senior Michael Gajda led off with his second hit of the game, beating out an infield single, and advanced to second on Owen Robbins’ sacrifice bunt.

The Mariners delivered a pair of clutch two-out hits. First, senior Angel Galindez grounded an RBI single in center for the go-ahead run.

“I just wanted to drive the ball up the middle to help the team,” Galindez said.

Then DelaCruz drove a 3-2 pitch over the left-center field fence for a two-run home run for a three-run advantage.

“It was very electric,” DelaCruz said. “When I hit it, I thought it was definitely going over. I got all ball and barreled that up.”

Terni’s second home run — and team-leading eighth of the season — in the top of the ninth pushed Mitchell’s cushion to 5-1. His blast fired up his teammates.

“When I was rounding first, I could hear them screaming, so that was special,” Terni said.

Good thing Terni homered because JWU (27-13), the defending tournament champion, made things interesting in its final at-bat before Varney dug deep and ended the game.

After sharing the championship-winning moment with his teammates, Varney walked over to hug his grandfather Rick Varney who made the trip from New Hampshire.

“I couldn’t be more grateful for my family,” Varney said. “They’re the most supportive group that I could ask for.”

Now it’s on to the NCAA tournament.

Mitchell will learn its destination and opponent during Monday’s NCAA Division III baseball selection show. The Mariners put in a bid to host the regional round for the second straight year.

g.keefe@theday.com