OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Pastime Club didn’t just cruise to the last two state American Legion titles as Gayton Post.

It had to win games in any number of ways, including ones like Friday’s state Legion tournament elimination game against Westbrook, where Pastime’s season hung by a thread in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Joe Sullivan gave up the tying run, then recovered and pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam. Pastime took the momentum from that great escape and scored four runs in the top of the 10th to live another day with a 7-3 victory at The Ballpark.

Pastime (21-3) will face Zone 3 rival Windham at 3 p.m. Saturday. Windham won two of three meetings during the regular season, but Pastime won the zone title game.

Mekae Hyde hit a single in the 10th to drive in the winning run. Corbin Hyde went 3 for 5 with two triples and two runs scored, while Ben Wigant doubled and knocked in a pair of runs for Pastime.

“This is the  game where the character really comes out,” Wigant said. “We really needed to come up with runs quick (in the 10th) so they just couldn’t get a hit and end the game on us. We knew we had to make them battle back.”

“It’s like I’ve said before, I don’t think we’re the most talented team all the time, but we battle,” Mekae Hyde said. “We know how to win and that’s what’s most important. The most talented team doesn’t always win.”

Nor does the team that appears to have the opposition right where it wants them in the bottom of the ninth.

Trailing 3-2 going in, Westbrook rallied to tie on Zack Bean’s one-out double down the right field line.

Bean went to third when the relay throw to the plate went over catcher Mekae Hyde’s head. Sullivan, in his third inning in relief of starter Matt Bowen, then hit Kyle Heath with the next pitch.

“I was actually planning a squeeze with Heath up on the second pitch, but he got hit on the first pitch,” Westbrook coach Greg Souza said. “We should have put it away. We’ve got a guy at third base and one out. We had plenty of chances.

With runners at first and third and one out, Pastime intentionally walked cleanup hitter Sam Stauble. Sullivan then got Keenan Lowe to foul out to Wigant at first and struck out Kaleb Kent swinging to keep Pastime afloat.

“He’s been there before. Sully’s been the best closer I’ve ever had,” Lewiston coach Todd Cifelli said.

Sullivan had a hand in the game-winning rally. With one out, Luke Cote singled and stole second. Sullivan bunted to move him to third, but no one covered first base, allowing him to reach safely.

Mekae Hyde followed with a single to right which the right fielder overran, allowing Sullivan to follow Cote home and make it 5-3.

“No matter what the situation is, if we’re up 13-1 or we’re down a run in the last inning, I’m just trying to keep the same mindset — get that front foot down and just hit the ball as hard as I can,” Mekae Hyde said.

With Hyde going to third on the misplay, Westbrook tried to set up the double play by intentionally walking Corbin Hyde. But the second pitch went to the backstop sending Mekae Hyde home. Corbin Hyde followed with his second triple of the day and scored on Shawn Ricker’s ground out.

Sullivan wasn’t the only Pastime pitcher to work his way out of a tight spot.

With Pastime leading, 1-0, in the fourth, Bowen dropped a foul pop-up then lost his command of the strike zone. He walked four out of six batters to tie the game, then went down 2-0 to a sixth batter before getting set straight on a mound visit by Mekae Hyde with two out.

“I don’t know if you can put what I said to him in the paper,” Hyde said. “I just told him, ‘I don’t think this team is very good, so throw it down the middle and let them hit it.’ I watched them yesterday and I just wanted (Bowen) to fill up the zone.”

Bowen did just that, throwing three straight strikes to Collin Joyce to catch him looking and preserve the tie.

Wildness struck Bowen again in the sixth when an error, single and two hit batsmen gave Westbrook a 2-1 lead.

Pastime regained the lead in the seventh when Ricker walked and Wigant belted a 1-1 pitch from Westbrook starter Ethan Nash off the wall in right for an RBI double.

“It looked like it was going to go out. It felt really good off the bat,” Wigant said. “He had been just throwing in fastballs. I got my timing on him really fast in my first at-bat, so it was just sitting back, relaxing and hitting.”

Pastime had a chance to add to the lead in the ninth but stranded a runner at third against Nash, who went 9 1/3 innings.

“Ethan Nash was a JV pitcher (at Westbrook High School),” Souza said. “He pitched great. Goes into the 10th inning, you can’t ask for more than that. He only threw about 90 pitches.”

Sullivan hit Westbrook’s leadoff batter in the bottom of the 10th, but got a ground out and a great diving catch in right field by Chris Madden, who was able to double-up the runner at second to end the game.