Groton — Brett Rodriguez and Sebastiano Santorelli crossed paths only once prior to this summer.

Rodriguez's Wofford College beat Santorelli's Seton Hall, 12-5, last February in Spartanburg, S.C.

Now they're together on a daily basis as Mystic Schooners teammates.

They shared the same side of the infield — Rodriguez at shortstop and Santorelli at third base — for Friday's New England Collegiate Baseball League game against Ocean State at Fitch High School.

They also share a love for baseball.

"It's been awesome," Santorelli said of playing with Rodriguez. "We've gotten pretty close. It's been fun hitting next to him in the lineup and playing next to him in the infield. He's very good player. I think he has a bright future."

And they'll spending bonus time as NECBL All-Star Game teammates on Sunday in Holyoke, Mass.

That's fine with both of them.

"I love playing with him," said Rodriguez, who's from Queensbury, N.Y. "He works hard and plays hard. He's just a great guy to be around."

In their first season playing for Mystic, Santorelli and Rodriguez have been a reliable as the sunrise.

Manager Rob Bono can count on regularly writing their names on the lineup card.

"They've been here since day one," Bono said. "They both play hard every day and they compete every day. They want to play every day. They run out every ball. They're good kids."

Santorelli, who will enter is senior year at Seton Hall this fall, didn't expect to be with the Schooners this summer. He planned to line up an internship. Then his college coaches offered him an opportunity to go to Mystic on a temporary contract.

Temporary became permanent.

"It's a great league," said Santorelli, who's from Yonkers, N.Y. "I got here and luckily I played well enough and they asked me to stay, thankfully. And I've been here ever since."

Santorelli entered Friday's game leading the Schooners in RBI with 30, tying him for fourth in the NECBL. He's also first on the team in games played (38) hits (38) and doubles (12) while batting .250 and belting three home runs.

"It's funny, when you look at him, he doesn't look like a run producer; He's a smaller guy," Bono said. "When he's got guys on, he finds a way to get the job done. He doesn't strike out too much."

Batting from the No. 2 spot against Ocean State, Santorelli went 1-for-4 and scored a run in an important come-from-behind 5-4 victory. The Schooners (21-20) are clinging to the third and final playoff spot in the Southern Division as the regular season heads into the final week.

Rodriguez, who started at shortstop and batted third, made a huge impact on Friday's outcome. He had a team-best three hits in four at-bats and drove in two runs.

On the season, Rodriguez, who'll be a junior at Wofford College, is hitting .295 with four home runs and 21 RBI in 35 games. He considers himself a fierce competitor and it shows.

"Brett is a sparkplug," Bono said. "When he's in the lineup, you always feel good and you have that extra energy that he brings to the game. He's a strong, physical kid. He loves the play the game and everybody feeds off that.

"Just from talking to scouts, they all really like Brett."

The Schooners will lean heavily on both Santorelli and Rodriguez down the stretch. They return from the all-star break with a game Tuesday at Ocean State in Wakefield, R.I.

Wednesday is a showdown with Newport in a game that could determine Mystic's playoff fate. Newport (19-21) trails Mystic by 1.5 games. The playoffs begin two days later.

"We do think we're the best team in this league and think we can win it," Santorelli said. "We've gotten a little cold recently, which happens in a long season. I feel once we get in there, I think we'll be fine."

Making the playoffs means more time together for Santorelli and Rodriguez and their Mystic teammates.

"It's a lot of fun being in Mystic," Rodriguez said. "Playing with their group of guys, it's just a really good time. ... We've gotten a lot of hard work in. We're hoping to get into the playoffs."

• Mystic's Thomas Girard (Duke), Christopher Troye (UC Santa Barbara) and Anthony Cruz (Quinnipiac) also are on the Southern Division all-star squad.

g.keefe@theday.com