BRISTOL, Conn. — The night ended almost as quickly as it began for the Scarborough Little League All-Stars.

The ping of aluminum-alloy bats meeting horsehide-covered baseballs rang out repeatedly, but most of it happened while Connecticut was at bat.

Fairfield American Little League batted around in each of the first two innings Monday night en route to a 15-2 New England Regional Tournament victory over the Maine state champions in a game shortened to four innings by the 10-run mercy rule.

Scarborough (0-3) needs a win Wednesday over Bedford, N.H., to qualify for the semifinals. Connecticut (3-0) and Bedford (2-0) lead a six-team field that will be whittled to four when the preliminary round ends on Wednesday night.

Manager Neal Pratt would not let the defeat tarnish his kids’ experience.

“We have the greatest kids in the world,” he said. “Despite the fact that they were down significantly, they stayed focused. They made uncharacteristic mistakes, but they didn’t let those mistakes get the better of them in terms of their approach and their character and the way they play the game. I’m just as proud of them today as I was after any of the 30 games that they won.”

The Connecticut batters lit up starter Morgan Pratt in the first inning.

With runners on first and second with one out, pitcher Matt Kubel, Kevin Oricoli and Michael Ghiorzi (3-for-3) cracked successive singles. A two-run single by No. 9 hitter Patrick Steed added to the misery. A brilliant catch by shortstop Alex Dobecki ended the rally, but Scarborough faced a 6-0 deficit before picking up a bat.

And yet Scarborough’s first inning offered promise.

Pratt was hit by a pitch, Connor Kelly rapped an infield hit and Jared Brooks singled to center to load the bases with one out. Zoltan Panyi punched a hit to deep center. Pratt scored easily, but Kelly was gunned down at the plate on a well-executed relay.

“It was a very close play at the plate but they got the call. If he had been called safe, who knows what happens from there. But with that said, one play didn’t make the difference. Our guys battled but we didn’t have our best game today,” Pratt said.

Andrew Goodwin, pinch-hitting for Dobecki, drove in Brooks with a fielder’s choice grounder to second.

But any hopes for a comeback were dashed by Connecticut’s heavy artillery in the second inning.

In all, Connecticut pounded out 12 hits and benefited from five Scarborough errors.