By:Shannon Bickert

After an 11-3 loss the night before, Mystic bounced back with a dominant 10-1 victory over the Waves on Saturday, June 13. With the win, Mystic moved to 7-2 on the season, good for first in the NECBL South standings.

The starting pitching on both sides was stellar. For Mystic, Mike Poncini (Georgetown) made his second start of the year. Poncini went four innings, allowing just one hit and two walks. Ocean State’s starter, Benton Hickman (Portal) was dominant during his outing, striking out nine through four innings.

The Schooners brought their first baserunner aboard, Casey Wensley (Bryant), on an error in the second. Wensley swiped second and in his debut with Mystic, Anthony Belisario (Portal) worked a walk. Both baserunners moved into scoring position on a balk, but Hickman got out of the jam.

The Schooners knocked their first hit of the day in the fourth. With two outs, Wensley hit a bloop single into shallow left field, but was left on base.

Poncini allowed his first hit in the fourth, a single to Jack LaRose (Portal) after dealing a walk. Poncini got out of trouble, forcing a strikeout.

Brennan Confreda (Florida International) entered in the fifth for the Waves and retired the Schooners in order.

Tro Fellings (Purdue) took over on the bump for Mystic in the fifth. Fellings dealt two walks but kept the shutout intact.

The Schooners broke open the scoring in the top of the sixth. Anthony Ruggiero (Northeastern) worked a walk and Jamie Zee (Notre Dame) reached on an error. Cam Righi (UConn) loaded the bases on a walk. Wensley ripped a sacrifice fly to bring in the first run of the game. Belisario knocked his first hit of the season, a two-RBI single to give Mystic the 3-0 lead.

The Waves answered with a run of their own. Justin Hackett (Portal) ripped an RBI double to the centerfield fence off Chris Hernandez (CSF). Mystic stopped further trouble from unraveling as Hernandez used an inside move to pick off the baserunner.

Mystic added onto their lead in the seventh off the new arm, Hudson Barton (Tennessee). Jack Harley (Stetson) scored Christian Butera (Brown) on a fielder’s choice to make it a 4-1 ballgame.

The Schooners continued to add insurance with three runs in the eighth. Wensley reached for the third time in the game on an error and stole third. Belisario cashed in with an RBI. Thomas O’Connell and Butera worked back-to-back walks and executed a double steal of second and home to extend Mystic’s lead to five runs. The Schooners continued to capitalize on poor defense; Butera scored on an overthrow to make it a 7-1 game.

Brady Bouchard (Portal) took over in the bottom of the eighth for the Schooners. Bouchard tossed a 1-2-3 frame in his second outing of the season.

Justin Best (Manhattan) made his 2026 Schooners debut as a pinch hitter in the top of the ninth. Best reached on a free pass and swiped second. Righi wore a pitch and Wensley earned his second hit of the day to load the bases. Joel Collado worked a pinch-hit RBI walk to give Mystic a seven-run lead. The Schooners continued to tack on; Butera ripped a two-RBI single to right field, giving Mystic double-digit runs.

Bouchard struck out three in the ninth to close the door on the Waves.

The Schooners stay on the road to face Bristol for a Sunday evening matchup. First pitch from Muzzy Field is set for 5:00 pm.