Groton — One day soon, Mystic Schooners teammate and roommate Connor Harris and Rian Schwede will head in different directions and head back to college.

Depending on the outcome of the first game of the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s best-of-three playoff series against Bristol on Friday night at Fitch High School, it could even happen on Saturday.

Mike and Gloria Stergio of Salem served as the Mystic pitchers’ host family and dreaded that day. They watched Friday’s game from beyond the left field fence until fog rolled in in the sixth inning and delayed the end of the game.

“It was honestly a great experience,” Mike said earlier in the afternoon. “These two boys are absolutely incredible young men. They’re kind, caring, self-sufficient people. It was really enjoyable for my wife, especially. She calls them her sons. They really are.

“It’s depressing to a point that they won’t be here. They’re family.”

Like the Stergios, Harris and Schwede got more than they bargained for from their summer baseball experience.

The two Schooners players have formed a tight bond not only with each other, but also with their host families.

This is a bond that will last much longer than Mystic’s season finale.

“They’re beautiful people, beautiful hearts,” Schwede said. “They care so much about me and Connor. It’s really eye-opening to see. Two beautiful people who really care so much about two kids coming to their house for the summer. … It was surreal.”

Call it fate or just coincidence that brought the Harris, Schwede and Stergio families together.

It all started when Harris, from Avon, played her first season with the Schooners in 2022. She already had a connection to the Stergio family, as her mother, Sharon, was Traci Stergio’s roommate and close friend at Central Connecticut State University.

Sharon stayed in touch with Mike and Gloria after their daughter Traci passed away from breast cancer in 2011 at age 39.

“They came to two or three games at the Dodd (Stadium) and obviously knew the connection and sat down with my mom,” Connor Harris said. “I half-jokingly told my mom that if Mike Stergio ever came back here, we’d love to have him.”

Now let’s come to this season.

When Harris returned to Schooners, he moved in with the Stergios, his first homeowners, for the summer.

“When I found out I was coming back here, it was a no-brainer,” Harris said. “So we reached out to them and they were really open to it and really loved it. I went there at the beginning of the summer. It was really fun.

“They are really good people. They do everything they can to make us feel good so we can come here and perform every day.”

The connections did not end there.

Schwede also has a cancer story.

Schwede endured a grueling course of treatment after being diagnosed with stage 3 testicular cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes in 2020 at age 19. He underwent emergency surgery and underwent four rounds of chemotherapy throughout the pandemic.

Schwede, who was studying at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts at the time, continued to play baseball whenever he had the opportunity.

Mystic manager Phil Orbe, who attended Montville High School with Traci, helped Schwede land at Stergios. Schwede, a native of Hanson, Massachusetts, played alongside Harris on the 2022 Schooners.

“When we had to assign host families, I knew Rian and Connor knew each other because they played together in 2022, and knowing the role cancer plays in the Stergio family, I thought it was a natural fit,” Orbe said. “I never told the Stergios that Rian had beaten cancer.

“They’ve been one of our success stories for host families. Host families are the bread and butter of our organization. We can’t do anything without them. It was important to me to be a first-time host family and have that connection. It’s a bit of a coincidence, but it’s also important.”

It was also important for Schwede.

“I connect with a family that’s going through something very similar,” Schwede said. “It’s really nice to get to know them and be able to share my story with them, and they share their stories about their daughter. It’s something I really value when I’m with them.”

Harris and Schwede will carry with them on their journey countless fond memories of the summer they spent with the Stergios.

Harris will miss the fresh pineapple and homemade granola Gloria made for breakfast.

They will both remember their time in “The Bunker.”

“The Bunker” is Mike Stergio’s man cave. The basement has two comfy chairs and a big TV. Family photos hang on the walls.

Mike recently added another photo to his collection of memorabilia: a framed photo of Harris and Schwede, signed by both players.

“When we get back from a game late at night, we’ll go there,” Harris said. “We’ll go down there and watch a little SportsCenter. There’s always Gatorades in the fridge and there’s Cheez-Its in there too. He’s always cooking something.”

Schwede will appreciate the simple moments spent at home.

“Getting to know Stergios was a whole different experience — coming together spiritually and then above all, openly,” Schwede said. “Mike is a great guy. I could talk to Mike all night long. Gloria is really great. She’s the mother of mothers. She does everything possible.”

It will be an emotional day as Harris and Schwede say goodbye to each other and the Stergio family.

Harris will finish his college baseball career at Winthrop in Rock Hill, South Carolina, while Schwede, who committed to Villanova last school year, is still trying to decide his next college stop.

Gloria will miss her regular interaction with her “boys.”

“They’re very well-adjusted,” Gloria said. “They’re very well-behaved. They make their own breakfast. They make their own beds. They do their own laundry. … They’re very, very respectful. And I’m wondering, who’s raising these kids?”

“… We’re going to miss them. It’s going to be weird.”

You can be sure that they will all stay in touch.

“We’ve already talked about it,” Harris said. “Next time we’re in the area, we’ll go out to dinner or go out and have a good time. We talked about some of the memories we’ve made from this summer.”

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