Waterford — After two competitive games in the District 10 Little League (11-12) baseball championship series between Mystic and East Lyme, Mystic cruised to victory 12-1 in the decisive third game and earned a trip to the state Section 3 tournament.

The game was halted after four innings due to the 10-run rule.

Mystic earned its victory by winning in every facet of the game: pitching, hitting, fielding and on the base paths.

"Losing was a good wake up call for the kids," said Mystic manager Lloyd Morales, whose team lost their only game of the postseason 24 hours earlier, 11-8. "They were resilient. They bounced back. It made them figure out what they wanted out of the season."

East Lyme grabbed an early lead Friday night when Conor Tukey hit a solo home run to center field in the first inning. East Lyme held Mystic scoreless through the first two innings with starting pitcher Sebby DeCosta striking out four batters.

In the third inning, however, Mystic's bats — as well as their feet — got going. Jackson LaLima led off the inning with a solo home run, one of his three RBI on the night. Payton Neale followed by walking, stealing second, advancing to third on an error and scoring on a wild pitch in the next at-bat.

Mystic wound up scoring five runs, with heads-up base running playing a big role in the process.

"It always comes down to the small things," Morales said. "Having a play at the plate, setting the defense and things like that. We harped on that since day one."

Neale and starting pitcher Sidhaarth Bulusu each wound up stealing two bases and both ended up scoring two runs after moving into scoring position.

"(Mystic) did what they needed to do today," East Lyme manager Rob Tukey said. "We allowed the game to run away from us and we couldn't stop the bleeding."

Mystic added to its lead in the fourth. Trace Morales got things going with a leadoff single, one of his two hits. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, LaLima hit a single that skipped off of third base and out into left field, scoring a run. It was the start of a seven-run inning that put Mystic in control.

"It was a great postseason," said Tukey. "I'm proud of my guys. They did wonderful. We just ran into a tough one today."

Bulusu earned the victory, pitching a complete game while surrendering just one run on three hits. Center fielder Colin O'Leary helped Bulusu's cause in the fourth inning. With a runner on second, O'Leary made a sliding catch to keep a run from scoring, earning loud cheers from the crowd. On the next play, Bulusu struck out the final batter of the game.

Mystic will face the District 7 champion, either Newington or Wethersfield, in the opener of the double-elimination Section 3 tournament on Tuesday at Rocky Hill.