Greely’s Kelsey Currier, left, beats out a throw to first as Gray-New Gloucester first baseman Jordan Grant reaches to catch the ball during a 4-3 Greely win in Gray on Friday. (Wil Kramlich/Sun Journal)

GRAY — Kelsey Currier didn’t get to finish her at-bat in the top of the sixth inning, and it turned out to be a good thing for Greely.

Currier instead led off the top of the seventh with a single, which started a rally for the Rangers, who went from trailing by two to leading by a run.

The Greely senior then took care of business in the circle to finish off Gray-New Gloucester for a 4-3 victory in a Class B South softball clash on Friday.

“We (tried stealing) and got caught, and I wasn’t upset because Kelsey would be leading off (the seventh),” Greely (2-1) coach Rob Hale said.

Hale added that there was “no great speech” given to his 1-2-3 hitters prior to the seventh.

“We’ve been putting people on play, we just needed that one more hit. So just keep making contact and things will happen, and that’s what they did,” Hale said.

Patriots (2-1) pitcher Alie Martell had worked out of jams all game, stranding runners at third in each of the first four innings, allowing just one run on a passed ball. Striking out 11 batters helped her cause.

“We had a couple innings where they left second and third on, and Alie struck her out, or we got that out,” Patriots coach Amanda Harmon said. “I think that they do work hard and know that they have a team behind them, and they have that confidence that’s building that ‘we can get the out.'”

Martell had trouble retiring her pitching counterpart in Currier, who reached base all four times she stepped to the plate. The fourth and final time Currier slapped a single into left-center to lead off the seventh. She then stole second, and moved to third on Maddie Rawnsley’s single. Sawyer Dusch followed with an infield single to score Currier, Rawnsley scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, and Dusch was safe at home after Audrey Boyle grounded out to first for the go-ahead run.

“Just looking for a break and we got a couple breaks, balls hit in the right spot,” Hale said. “That’s the way softball is, put the ball in play and things happen.”

Currier, who Hale said isn’t a strikeout pitcher (she had five in the game), got a couple assists from Dusch at shortstop to get the final three outs. Dusch made a running, leaping catch of a shallow pop from Martell to lead off the bottom of the seventh, then made a diving catch of an Isabelle Brindley liner for the second out after Currier had walked Madi Pelletier. Currier then struck out Jordan Grant, with Rawnsley the catcher tossing to Boyle at first to end the game.

“That was really big because I was going to move (Sawyer) to second for that inning, because she hurt her hand really bad in the previous at-bat,” Hale said. “She couldn’t grip a ball, and I was afraid she’d have to throw it, so I was going to switch her so she wouldn’t have to throw so far underhand and she said ‘no, I’m all right,’ and then she goes and makes those two nice, nice plays.”

They were plays on balls hit that went for Patriots hits during the first six innings, with single runs coming in the third, fourth and fifth frames.

Martell drove in Alexa Thayer with a single in the third to tie the game 1-1, then Mikaela Ryan came home on an Amelia Cobb single in the fourth to give the Patriots a lead. Martell led off the fifth with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Brindley groundout.

“We got some things working. Some of the girls that needed to make contact did at the right times, and we were able to produce,” Harmon said. “We just have to remember that it takes all seven (innings) to finish, and now we’ve seen that the last couple games — Wells, today — that we have to finish in that seventh inning.”

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

Gray-New Gloucester pitcher Alie Martell delivers in the rain during a loss to Greely in Gray on Friday. (Wil Kramlich/Sun Journal)

Greely pitcher Kelsey Currier winds up for a delivery during the Rangers’ win over Gray-New Gloucester in Gray on Friday. (Wil Kramlich/Sun Journal)

Gray-New Gloucester’s Alexa Thayer pokes a single during a loss to Greely in Gray on Friday. (Wil Kramlich/Sun Journal)

Gray-New Gloucester catcher Alexa Thayer grabs hold of a throw to force out Greely’s Taylor LaFlamme at home during a 4-3 Greely win in Gray on Friday. (Wil Kramlich/Sun Journal)

Greely’s Kelsey Currier connects on an infield single during the Rangers’ win over Gray-New Gloucester in Gray on Friday. (Wil Kramlich/Sun Journal)