Two outs from being tagged with a loss and inches from being tagged out at plate, the Gorham 11-and-under all-stars avoided both with one slide.

Gorham faced Messalonskee on July 18 with the Cal Ripken state championship on the line at Lishness Field in Brunswick.

Gorham trailed, 2-1, entering the bottom of the seventh inning, but that’s when they did as they had done the entire tournament: with their backs to the wall, they played their best baseball.

With the bases loaded, Kyle Curley singled to center field, easily scoring Chris Hardy from third, and setting up a showdown at the plate between Spencer Lapierre and Messalonskee catcher Corey Foye.

“I knew the center fielder for the other team had a strong arm,” said Gorham manager Joe Wallace, who was coaching at third base. “I just went for it.”

Wallace signaled for Lapierre to round third and head for home. The youngster made the decision pay off, sliding under the tag in a cloud of dust, giving Gorham the walk-off win and the championship, 3-2.

It was Gorham’s second win of the day over Messalonskee. Having lost once earlier in the tournament – to Messalonskee, no less – Gorham needed to beat its opposition twice for the championship.

Unlike the second game, Gorham won the first contest in less than dramatic fashion.

Lefty Mark Ridgeway dominated from the mound and Gorham sent home 11 runs in the fourth inning, winning via the 10-run rule, 12-1.

“They couldn’t hit him,” said Wallace of his pitcher.

Ridgeway came out trying to keep the Messalonskee hitters off balance.

“I tried pitching them low and kept pitching off-speed stuff,” he said. “I didn’t pitch them right-down-the-plate fastballs every time.”

And when they did hit the ball, it went straight back to Ridgeway. Six times he was able to field the ball on his own, sending it to first for the force out.

“He was just throwing it in and they’d hit it back to him,” Wallace said. “Not only did he pitch, he made the outs in the field as well.”

Ridgeway received the game ball for his performance in game one, and since he only had to pitch four innings before the mercy rule took affect, he was able to pitch the first two innings of the second game as well.

The state tournament included 12 other teams. Here’s a look at Gorham’s run to the title:

On July 14, Gorham beat Sebago-Long Lake, 11-1 in five innings. Dan Holmes launched a three-run home run in the first inning, while Nathan Roop and Lapierre shut SLL down from the mound.

The next morning Gorham drubbed Skowhegan, 8-0, with Ridgeway and Roop combining for the shutout. Holmes provided a deja-vu moment with another first-inning homer to get the offense started. Alex McCarthy got into the action as well, recording three hits and scoring a run.

Gorham’s lone stumble came that afternoon, when it faced Messalonskee in a rematch of last season’s 10-and-under tournament final – which Gorham won.

Uncharacteristically poor defense behind pitcher Damon Wallace put Gorham into an 8-1 hole they were unable to overcome, and they lost, 11-4.

With a blemish now on their record, every game became win-or-go-home. Gorham responded to the pressure like champions do.

They again faced Sebago-Long Lake again on July 16. Gorham trailed entering the third, but scored nine runs in the inning en route to the victory. Curley dominated from the mound while also leading the offense with three hits.

Gorham faced elimination twice more the following day, answering the challenge again by eliminating Andy Valley East, 11-1, in four innings, then knocking off Andy Valley West with a 5-0 victory.

Curley had another three hit performance in the first game and took the mound to pitch a shutout in game two.

The wins advanced Gorham to the championship game, played against Messalonskee the next day.

In the tournament’s eight games, Gorham outscored opponents 63-17 while recording 87 hits.

“These kids are some of the best baseball players I’ve seen at this age,” Wallace said. “It’s unbelievable. In the last two years we are 26-4.”

Curley was named tournament MVP for his clutch hitting. Gorham now heads to the regional tournament in West Warrick, R.I., where they will open play by facing the host team Aug. 5.

Competing against seven other teams from throughout New England, Wallace hopes Gorham can duplicate last year’s impressive performance in the 10-and-under regionals, where they reached the championship game.

As Spencer Lapierre is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the winning run against Messalonskee, the umpire signals that he slide safely underneath catcher Corey Foye