READFIELD — The Western B regional quarterfinal softball game between Maranacook and Gray-New Gloucester had a little bit of everything.

It had drama. It had controversy. It had terrific individual efforts.

And No. 5 Gray-New Gloucester got the biggest hit of the game, scoring the winning run in the eighth inning on an RBI double by left fielder Zoe Adams to beat Maranacook 3-2.

The Patriots improve to 13-4 and advance to play No. 1 Fryeburg in the regional semifinals Saturday. No. 4 Maranacook ends the season 12-5.

“They just made a couple more plays than we did,” Maranacook coach Don Beckwith said.

Adams ripped a Sarah Boynton pitch off the wall in left center to score Maggie Chaplin with the game-winning run.

“I was really nervous, because being a freshman, you still get really shaky,” Adams said. “My coach just said show them what you can do.”

Chaplin, the Gray-New Gloucester pitcher, struck out Lindsay Jackson and induced a groundout by Boynton before forcing another groundout from Jessica Smith two batters later to end the game.

Early on, it was a game of missed opportunities for Maranacook. In the second inning, Kaitlyn Chick reached base on a fielder’s choice, stole second and reached third on an error. Smith hit a groundball to Patriots’ shortstop Alexandra Thompson moments later, and Beckwith, hesitating at first, sent Chick home. Thompson threw the ball in time to nail Chick at home plate.

“We usually play aggressively, so why change, right?” Beckwith said.

The game was scoreless until the fifth, when Samantha Wilkins scored from second on an infield error. The Black Bears took a 2-1 lead in the sixth after a call was overturned at home plate.

With Boynton on third and Chick on second, Maranacook first baseman Amber Ridlon smacked a line drive down the third-base line. Boynton scored easily, but left fielder Lindsay Nunley threw a strike to Wilkins at home, who tagged out Chick. The umpires convened in the middle of the field after the play and determined that Chick was obstructed by Gray-New Gloucester third baseman Maria Valente at third on the way home, thus they allowed the run to count, giving the Black Bears a 2-1 lead.

The Patriots (13-4) tied the game in the seventh after a terrific at-bat by Sandra Ricardi. Nunley led off the inning with a single, then stole second and third. Ricardi battled through a 15-pitch at-bat, eventually singling to right field to drive in Nunley and tie the game at 2.

“We played hard, we played ready to go,” Gray-New Gloucester coach Amanda Harmon said. “We just made some great plays when we needed to and came back fighting.”

Boynton finished with nine strikeouts for the Black Bears, while Chick had three hits, including a double.

Dave Dyer — 621-5639

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