GORHAM – About midway through Monday afternoon’s Class B state championship game, the public address announcer at Robie Field stated that the Buckfield softball team had no runs and just one hit through the first few innings.

The Golden Bucks Coach Mike Carrier immediately signaled up to the press box that his team in fact had a pair of hits. Moments later, the correction was made, but that seemed to sum up the afternoon for the Bucks.

The offense didn’t come easily for Bucksport, as Gray-New Gloucester silenced the Golden Bucks with a well-played 3-1 victory for its second state title in three years.

“We hit the ball well and hit it right at them,” said Carrier, whose team scored 148 runs this season. “That’s the luck of the game. They played great defense. When we got people on base, we hit at them and they made good plays.”

Kelly Bregman pitched a three-hitter while the Patriots’ defense was superb. G-NG also managed to stake a 2-0 lead in the first inning to put the Golden Bucks (18-2) in the hole early.

“We always talk about coming out and getting early runs,” said shortstop Dawn Ross. “It’s not until now that we’ve actually come out and gotten runs. It’s a good time to peak.”

It was the 11th straight win for the Patriots (15-5), who struggled early on but have played some of its best ball down the stretch.

“It just came together,” said G-NG coach John Moody. “We peaked at the right times. That’s a coach’s dream right there, to get everything going at the right time. We got hits from people that weren’t hitting all year. The defensive plays were there, and we limited the errors and that’s what was killing us all year.”

Bregman gave up a bunt hit to Jessica Taylor, Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year, to start the game, but allowed just one more until the sixth. She walked just one batter. Meanwhile, the defense around her was excellent. G-NG had just one error and got some fine plays from a variety of players. Catcher Emily Baker picked off Taylor in the first. Katie Skilling had a pair of nice plays in right and Kristy Morrison made a nifty diving catch in center.

“The outfield has been working really hard,” said third baseman Cait Mason, whose two-run triple provided the early 2-0 advantage. “(Assistant) Coach Bob Beebe says he’ll pay them if they dive. He pays them $10 if they dive and catch it.”

Just like in the regional championship win against Maranacook, the Patriots produced early hits and runs and seized early control of the game. After Skilling walked and Bregman singled, Mason tripled to right.

“With two outs its kind of exciting,” said Mason. “You know you have to pump it up. That’s when the adrenaline comes in and stuff happens.”

Just two innings later, the Patriots struck again with two outs. Ross reached on bunt hit. Bregman followed with an RBI double to center.

Ross was part of the Patriots state championship team two years ago, but celebrated in the hospital after separating her shoulder early in the game.

“Last time I felt bad because I missed out,” said Ross. “This year, before the game, coach said: ‘See if you can make it through this one.’ It’s awesome. We wanted it in basketball, but now we got it in softball.”

The 3-0 lead was all Bregman and the defense needed. The Bucks managed just one hit the rest of the way. After Bregman’s only walk, Alice Andrews doubled to make it 3-1 in the sixth. Though Elissa Gordon reached on an error in the seventh, the Bucks couldn’t rally.

“We had a little slump during the season,” said Ross. “We realized we wanted to get back to the state game. We’ve been there before. We knew what to do when it came tournament time. We just had to work hard to get there.”