WINDHAM — Ten batters reached base Friday for the Portland Little League All-Star team. Only one came in to score.

David Rank made sure that was all his team needed.

Rank retired the final 10 batters to complete a five-hitter, and Portland defeated Biddeford, 1-0, at Ciccarone Field in Windham to win the state championship.

Portland will play in the New England Regional in Bristol, Connecticut, beginning Aug. 3.

“This is a special team,” said Rank, who struck out nine. “I’m really excited. I just want to see if I can pitch well against the best teams from the other states.”

The in-state hitters haven’t had an answer for Rank. He threw a no-hitter against Biddeford earlier in the tournament in a 2-0 victory. That put his team in the winner’s bracket, and Portland won twice more – an 11-1 triumph over Lincoln County being the other victory – to earn the state title.

“David has been pitching like that all summer,” Portland Coach Brian Bechard said. “He’s an incredible athlete just in general, and obviously a great pitcher and the backbone of our team.”

A pitchers’ duel between Rank and Biddeford starter Lukas Lamontagne (four innings, one run, four strikeouts) seemed unlikely early in Friday’s game, as both teams had numerous scoring chances. In the top of the first, Portland got going quickly when Louie Bouchard doubled to left, Joey Salvaggio advanced him with a groundout, and Charlie Armstrong roped a single to center to make it 1-0.

“It felt great,” said Armstrong, who came through with two strikes. “I was just thinking ‘Line drive up the middle.’ … Anything close, foul it off. And if it’s right there, drive it. It felt amazing. Everyone was so supportive.”

The hits kept coming, but not the runs. In the bottom of the first, Biddeford loaded the bases on a fielder’s choice from Connor Normand and singles from Tyler Blais and Anthony Curro, but Rank got a strikeout to escape the jam. Portland loaded the bases in the second on a single from David King, a walk to Finn Day and a single from Demetrius Brown-Phillips, but Lamontagne slipped out of danger when he turned a comebacker into a double play.

In the bottom of the third, Biddeford loaded the bases again when Brandon Lyons doubled, Lamontagne singled and Normand walked. Blais followed with a hard-hit grounder, but it was right to Bouchard, the shortstop, who stepped on second to end the threat.

“We were one swing away from going ahead in this game at any point,” Coach Jamie Lamontagne said. “I’m proud of how these guys worked their butts off this season. They fought hard until the end. This is a good Portland team, though.”

Biddeford wasn’t scoring, and wasn’t wearing down Rank. The righty needed 23 pitches to get through the first inning, but only 24 to get through the next two as he pounded the zone to get ahead of batters. Once he found a rhythm in the fourth, he had both the momentum and enough remaining pitches to finish the job.

“That’s what he’s good at. That’s the difference between a kid like David and some other really good pitchers at this level,” Bechard said. “There are a lot of kids that can throw hard, there’s kids that can throw good breaking stuff, but the control that David has is what sets him apart.”

Rank was calm before the game – “I was a little concerned he was too calm,” Bechard said – and that demeanor never faded even as he found himself in a tight game with little margin for error.

“I’ve been in a lot of big games before, and this was just another one of them,” Rank said. “I kind of like being in that spot, because I’ve been in it quite a bit.”

His fielders made the job easier, playing errorless defense behind him.

“At the Little League level, it can be pretty unpredictable, especially in the field,” Bechard said. “When you get to the All-Star level … you’re going to get good fielding, but I think our kids are even a notch above that. … You won’t see us make a lot of routine errors.”

Now, as their pitcher said, they’ll get to test themselves against the region’s best.

“We just (stress) pitching and defense,” Bechard said. “And it’s gotten us to where we are.”