SACO — Dan Marzilli pitched a one-hitter and Charles Barnard singled in a fifth-inning run Thursday to carry fifth-seeded Portland to a 1-0 victory against fourth-ranked Thornton Academy in the Class A South baseball quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs (13-5) will be at top-ranked Falmouth (17-0) in the semifinals Saturday.

Marzilli walked two and struck out four.

“I felt great. I tried to slow myself down, not try to rush my pitches, and just stay relaxed out there, let the fielders field,” said Marzilli.

He had a no-hitter until allowing a leadoff single to Adam Gibbons in the fifth.

“(Marzilli) is tough. (Portland pitching coach Ian) Boyle called a good game,” said Thornton Coach Ray Petit. “We have a good hitting team and (Marzilli) kept us off balance, and he kept the ball out of the air.”

Gibbons was lifted after his single for a pinch runner, who was picked off first.

“The pickoff was huge,” said Portland Coach Mike Rutherford. “Our pitching coach, Ian Boyle, guessed that they were going to steal and called the pickoff. Then we struck out the guy on the 3-2 pitch. You could see that (Thornton) got deflated.”

Marzilli induced 12 groundouts.

“When Danny Marzilli is on, he’s throwing ground balls,” said Rutherford.

Barnard was called on to pinch hit in the top of the fifth with two outs, and runners on first and second.

“I was confident coming (to the plate),” said Barnard. “Sometimes those situations can be pretty nerve-racking but I was confident. I knew I had to do my job.”

Barnard dumped a soft fly ball toward the left-field line that fell in front of left fielder Andrew Coleman.

“I just went with the pitch,” said Barnard. “I was just praying it was going to get down.”

John Williams scored from second on the play.

“(That was) a big, big clutch RBI single, and that’s all we needed,” said Rutherford. “Barnard got it done.”

Ben Lambert, a senior, allowed four hits for Thornton (12-5), with one walk and eight strikeouts. He also took a no-hitter into the fifth before Williams led off with a single.

“Lambert is the pitcher of the year,” said Rutherford. “We knew it was going to be a 1-0, 2-1 game.”

“(Lambert) is probably the best athlete I’ve ever coached,” said Petit. “We just didn’t hit (today). I’m going to miss (Lambert).”

After committing five errors in its preliminary-round victory Monday against Kennebunk, Portland played error-free baseball.

“It comes down to pitching and defense,” said Rutherford. “And we did it a little better than they did.”

Now comes the showdown with Falmouth for Portland.

“We played perfect defense today and we have to do it again on Saturday to win,” said Marzilli.

“We played (Falmouth) a lot during the preseason,” said Barnard. “We play with those guys during summer ball so we know them pretty well. They’re similar to us in the way they play. We match up well.”