GORHAM — Lively music blared through the loudspeakers during mid-inning breaks at misty Robie Field, putting a smile on the face of Scarborough pitcher Gabby Pelletier as she grooved to the beat.

When the music stopped, the dancing continued in the form of softballs coming from Pelletier’s right hand. She offered a wide array of spins, speeds and always-around-the-plate pitches that kept Gorham’s powerful lineup off balance just enough to pave the way for a 6-1 Class A South quarterfinal victory Thursday afternoon.

Sixth-seeded Scarborough (13-6) advances to face No. 2 Cheverus, a 3-0 winner over Massabesic, on Saturday in Portland.

Gorham, the No. 3 seed, finishes the season 13-4. One of those victories was a 2-1 decision at home over Scarborough.

The Rams entered Thursday’s contest on a five-game winning streak, having slugged their way to double-digit runs each time. They continued belting the softball against Scarborough, but their hard-hit balls more often than not landed either foul or in the webbing of a fielder’s glove.

The Red Storm snuffed out potential Gorham rallies in the second, fifth and sixth innings, thanks to sterling defense. At third base, Vera DiSotto snagged a line drive while diving to her left. In shallow left field, Avery Charland made a sliding catch after a long run toward the line. At shortstop, Samantha Cote leaped high to snare what seemed a certain extra-base hit to the gap.

Center fielder Meghan Robinson hauled in three sharply-struck balls, and right fielder Taylor Swalla made a long run to intercept another.

“That’s probably why I’m so confident when I throw,” Pelletier said, “because I know I have an awesome defense behind me.”

And in front of her as well. Catcher Alana Sawyer calls all the pitches, and Pelletier has a smorgasbord of six from which to choose: fastball, changeup, drop, screwball, curveball and rise.

“The chemistry her and I have is unmatched,” Sawyer said. “She was really on (Thursday) with everything. She had a couple nice changeups that got them, a couple nice movement pitches that they fouled off. She was able to move the ball around the plate, and I think that was really beneficial for us.”

Pelletier struck out four in the first two innings, then only one more the rest of the game. She issued two walks and didn’t allow a run until the bottom of the seventh, when Makayla Quintal knocked an inside-the-park home run made possible by the diving attempt of Swalla in the right-field corner.

Scarborough scored single runs in the third and fifth. A Pelletier double to the opposite field was the first hit off Gorham flamethrower Amber Bretton. Sawyer’s two-out grounder up the middle made it 1-0. Robinson added another RBI single in the fifth to drive in Cote, who had reached third on a walk, a wild pitch and a stolen base.

A light rain fell in the early innings and foggy mist came in for the rest. It remained 2-0 through six innings, but Bretton had thrown a lot of pitches, having walked six and hit a batter.

Then the game got out of hand for Gorham.

Five more walks (one intentional), a couple of wild pitches and one hit – a soft single to left by Pelletier – produced four more runs and a 6-0 lead.

Although Gorham had not played since May 24, Rams Coach Jason Dubail said rust was not an issue.

“No, I think the factor (Thursday) was some girls making some fantastic plays,” he said. “They made some terrific plays on defense and their pitcher threw a lot of strikes.”