SANFORD — The Mystic Schooners rode strong pitching and clutch hitting Thursday night to a 9-2 victory against the Sanford Mainers to claim the New England Collegiate Baseball League championship before a crowd of 600 at Goodall Park.

The Schooners opened the best-of-three championship series with a 3-1 win Wednesday night in Connecticut.

“It was the two best teams in the league going at each other,” said Sanford Coach Chris Morris, who also coaches at Husson University. “They got the big hits and we didn’t during the past two games.”

“For us the key was our pitching,” Mystic Coach Dennis Long said. “At the beginning of the season we were a little flat on our pitching (and) our hitting kept us going. Our pitching did pick up at the end of the year and we were able put together some pretty well-pitched games in the playoffs. We were happy to have pitching when we needed it.”

Ben Wessell, an incoming senior at the University of Rhode Island who is from Scarborough, had trouble with his control at the start of his four innings on the mound for Sanford and the Schooners took advantage. He hit two batters and walked one in the first two innings, when he also allowed five singles.

“It was a gutsy performance by Ben,” Morris said. Wessell, who had arm problems, hadn’t pitched in the playoffs.

Mystic took a 1-0 lead in the first on back-to-back singles by Nick Mascelli and Ryan Ramiz, a wild pitch and Richard Slenker’s sacrifice fly.

Mystic scored two more runs in the second on an RBI single by Mascelli before Martin Figuroa was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Mainers scored their first run in the fifth. Todd Czinege led off with a walk, moved to third on Shaine Hughes’ two-out single and scored on Mike Landestoy’s single to left.

Sanford added a run in the sixth. Czinge greeted reliever Joseph Rivera with a single, moved to second on Johnny Slater’s grounder, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Tristan Chari’s sacrifice fly to center.

Inning-ending double plays got Sanford reliever Will Tribucher out of trouble in the fifth and sixth, but the Schooners’ power hitters finally got to him in the seventh. Mascelli led off a walk and came around to score when Slenker drove a two-out double to the base of the wall in center. Chace Lunesford homered to center make it 6-2. Singles by Aaron Hill and Brett Bond, and a throwing error by Hughes in right produced another run.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mainers loaded the bases with one out, but Ryan Thomas struck out Landestoy and Chris Gaetano to end the threat.

The Schooners completed the scoring when Todd Hanley scored on a one-out double by Ramiz.

Other players from Maine on the Sanford roster were Paul McDonough, an infielder from Wells who plays at the University of Southern Maine; Kyle Heath, a catcher from Westbrook who plays at USM; Tom Fortier, a pitcher from Falmouth who plays at St. Joseph’s; Jonah Normandeau, a pitcher from Cumberland who plays at the University of Maine; and Ben Greenberg, a pitcher from Scarborough who plays at Fordham.