LYNN, Mass. — An eighth-inning home run lifted the visiting Mystic Schooners to a 3-1 win over the North Shore Navigators in Sunday’s New England Collegiate Baseball League action at Fraser Field.

After neither team managed a baserunner for three-and-a-half innings, center fielder Kyle Jones (Florida) put an end to the dueling no-hit bid to lead off the fourth, scorching a base hit into left field. A sacrifice bunt by shortstop Reece Moroney (Rhode Island) advanced Jones to second, allowing third baseman Pat D’Amico (Seton Hall) to drive him in on a double down the third-base line. 

Jones was the Navs' best player all game long, going 2-for-4 while scoring the only run. He also made his impact on defense, laying out for a pair of diving catches in center field including the final out of the ninth that would have padded Mystic’s lead had he missed.

On the mound, Ryan Buckler (Florida Atlantic), who had given up just one earned run through his last 11 combined innings entering Sunday, continued his run of strong starts. The right-hander stymied the Schooners throughout his second six-inning outing of the season, scattering just two hits and one walk while striking out eight.

Buckler’s command was on point as he consistently kept hitters off balance by changing speeds, allowing him to avoid the barrel of the bat and retire the first 14 consecutive batters he faced. 

“He was great…(and) he had a great changeup,” manager Bob Macaluso said of Buckler. “(Mystic) is a good lineup, and he dominated.”

After struggling all game long offensively, Mystic broke through in the eighth inning on a two-run blast to left-center field from Juju Stevens (Missouri) to grab his team’s first lead of the game at 2-1.

Stevens did it all for Mystic on offense, factoring into every run scored. The left fielder went 1-for-3 at the plate, recording two RBI and a run scored. 

Similar to Jones, Stevens also flashed his glove in the final frame, laying out in left field for a game-saving grab to deny designated hitter Isaac Kim (UC Santa Barbara) of an extra-base hit that would have brought the tying runs home. 

Mystic continued to add to its lead in the eighth inning as a pair of base hits from Matt Brinker (Northeastern) and Maddix Dalena (Connecticut) made it 3-1.

Despite capitalizing in the eighth, Mystic was unable to score with runners on the corners in the ninth inning as Ryan Griffin (Northeastern) induced a ground ball and a flyout.

The Navigators will look to break their recent skid on Monday when they travel to Newport, R.I., for a doubleheader against the Coastal Division-leading Gulls. The teams will resume a June 21 suspended game at 3 p.m. before playing their regularly scheduled contest at approximately 6:30 p.m.

“I thought our approach was a little better,” Macaluso said. “We just have to continue to work on improving our approach.”