GRAY — Down by a pair of runs early, the Gray-New Gloucester softball team simply shrugged it off.

A hit and a couple of wild pitches may have put Maranacook in the lead Tuesday, but it didn’t dent the Patriots’ psyche.

“We seem to do that all the time,” junior outfielder Anna Knapp said. “A team gets two runs, then we come back. We had that one good inning when we get on the pitcher.”

The Patriots had a few good innings and played some outstanding defense to rally from the early deficit to beat the Black Bears 9-2 in a Western Class B preliminary-round game. Gray-NG advances to Thursday’s quarterfinal round to face third-seeded Oak Hill in Wales at 4 p.m.

The sixth-ranked Patriots produced 16 hits and got a solid outing from pitcher Steph Greaton. She improved to 7-1 and allowed just two hits while striking out 10.

“They had the two triples and that was it,” said Gray-NG coach Amanda Harmon. “Once she gets her momentum, she definitely finds her spot and finds a groove. She adjusted to the umpire. She did what she had to do and knew she had the defense behind her.”

The Patriots played errorless ball in the field. Catcher Zoe Adams threw out three runners at second while Knapp got a pair on throws from right, including a double play in the third.

“It gets you excited and pumped up,” said Knapp of her team’s defensive effort. “You know you’ve got this and that you’re going to keep going from that momentum that you have.”

Knapp and Maria Valente each had three hits and drove in a run. Greaton had a pair of hits and plated two. Adams also had a pair of hits.

“We had some great hits,” said Harmon. “Some players that haven’t hit in the last couple of games had some big solid hits. We had some great small ball situations too.”

The Black Bears (7-10) got on the board in the second when Kaitlyn Chick tripled to lead off. Chick later scored on a wild pitch. Ashley Michaud reached on a fielder’s choice and also scored on a wild pitch for the 2-0 lead.

“Those didn’t hurt us as bad as they could have,” said Harmon. “Those were really our only two issues. We had no real errors. So we can’t be disappointed with that.”

After ending a Black Bear threat in the third with a double play, the Patriots (12-5) took the lead in the third on five hits and two errors. Sam Wilkins tripled in Alex Thompson for the first run. Then Wilkins scored on a Kaelyn Woods bunt that was misplayed. Woods later scored on a Knapp single and an error in center for the 3-2 lead.

“I think we just needed that one inning where we played really well on defense and then we brought it to the plate,” said Knapp. “It just went. Our motivation just kept going and going.”

The Patriots added three more in the fifth. Knapp doubled Adams home and scored on a Valente double. A Greaton single plated Valente for a 6-2 lead.

In the sixth, Gray-NG scored three more. Knapp and Valente each scored on wild pitches and Greaton singled in Lindsay Nunley.

After the triple in the second, Maranacook didn’t have another hit until Lindsey Jackson tripled in the seventh. Greaton struck out the final two to end the game.

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