WELLS — With nine seniors on his 13-girl roster, many of whom had never won a playoff game before this season, Wells softball coach Kevin Fox said he was expecting his team to play with a kind of certain urgency now that it’s the postseason.

The third-seeded Warriors had that exigency against sixth-seed Gray-New Gloucester on Thursday, taking advantage of the few opportunities the Patriots offered them and getting a four-hit, no-walk complete game gem from pitcher Lauren Bame to take a 6-0 victory in a Western Class B softball quarterfinal at Wells High School.

Wells (14-3) will host 10th-seeded Fryeburg Academy (9-9), which upset No. 2 Lincoln Academy 9-1 in another quarterfinal Thursday, in a regional semifinal at noon Saturday. It will be the Warriors’ first appearance in the semifinals since 2011 after missing the postseason the last two seasons.

Bame, one of the senior holdovers from that 2011 team, made sure of the return trip, using four different pitches to keep the Patriots lineup off-balance throughout as she struck out 11 while not allowing a Gray-New Gloucester (10-7) runner past second base.

“She pitched outstanding,” Wells coach Kevin Fox said. “She was definitely on top of her game today, which was key. She hit her spots and mixed it up all game; it was a great job.”

“I was throwing a lot of different stuff,” said Bame. “A lot of curves and a lot of screw balls and those were working really well for me. I had a good warmup and had a good energy.”

The Warriors managed just five hits off Patriots pitchers Stephanie Greaton and Hayley True, but cashed in on both openings they were given.

After retiring the side in order in the first two innings, Greaton’s control failed her in the third as she issued walks to Christina LeBlanc and Kaitlyn Tufts to give Wells runners on first and second with one out.

Leadoff hitter Maddie Taylor followed with a grounder that looked destined to get through the hole on the first-base side, only for the ball to hit Tufts for the second out. But another walk to Stephanie Woods loaded the bases, and with Bame at the plate, a Greaton pitch got past catcher Zoe Adams, allowing LeBlanc to score from third and Taylor to come around all the way to second when Woods’ throw from the backstop got past the covering Greaton.

“Part of it was creating scoring situations, and I think we did a good job of that with pitch selection and aggressive, heads-up base running,” Fox said. “They were ready to take advantage of any opening; (Taylor) scoring on the passed ball, that’s just being heads up, getting a good jump and being aggressive.”

True came on to get the Patriots out of the inning without any further damage, and, as Bame continued to deal, Wells stayed without a hit until Taylor lined a single to center in the fifth.

True then got two quick outs in the sixth and looked like she was about to give her team one last chance heading into the seventh down just 2-0, but Wells scored four runs with two outs to put the game away.

The rally started with near identical infield singles by Meg Young and Leblanc into the hole at shortstop, with an Ali Duplisea drag bunt then loading the bases.

Tufts brought home one run on a hard-hit ball that nipped off the glove of GNG third baseman Nichole Lowell, and an error by Maria Valente was then the death blow as Taylor’s hard-hit grounder went right through the shortstop’s legs, allowing three runs to score and Bame to cruise without pressure through the last inning to complete the shutout.

Combined, it was six runs on three walks, three infield hits, a passed ball and an error for the Wells offense. Or, as Bame put it, “We worked with what we had.”

“We’d like to do it with the bats,” Fox said. “But if that doesn’t happen, we have to find another way, and they did.”

Wells will now get a chance to avenge one of its three defeats on Saturday. Fryeburg clobbered the Warriors 14-0 back on April 30, when Raiders senior standout Sarah Harriman pitched a two-hitter with six strikeouts and also blasted a two-run homer.

But Harriman is no longer a factor after leaving the team mid-season, just one of many changes the Warriors are hoping for in the rematch.

“It’s awesome to play Fryeburg again,” Bame said. “We went into that first game intimidated, back on our heels and a little scared. Now, I think we can definitely beat them.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected].