Justin Grandmaison may not be Gorham’s number one starter, but he’s doing alright for himself this season.

The junior pitched six scoreless innings Saturday at Westbrook to push his record to 3-0 this year. He also doubled and tripled to knock in a pair of runs in the Rams 6-0 win.

“We came out of our little slump, a couple of us,” Grandmaison said. “We saw the ball well today, and we’re starting to bring it together.”

Gorham, 10-2 and amid a group of four teams jostling for spots behind top-ranked Portland (12-0), has been bringing it together all season. The Rams pounded out 10 hits against the Blazes, while another half-dozen balls were deep outs.

Westbrook, after graduating 13 players from last year’s western Maine championship team, is struggling at 5-7, but coach John Eisenhart knows that the experience of playing against good teams will make his young players better.

“We have a lot of guys getting their first consecutive varsity at-bats,” the coach said. “These young guys will be able to hit a pitcher like that come next spring, but they’ve got to get their at-bats. They’ve got to have a little failure before experiencing success.”

Blazes starter Sean McAlpine went the distance. Though he did let up six runs, the sophomore never gave up more than two in a single inning and walked just one.

“Sean threw real well. He was working it in and out,” said Westbrook catcher Mike Tanguay. “You miss your spot with an experienced team like this and they’re going to hit it well.”

The Rams were swinging from the start. Scott McDonald and Luke Barks led off the game with a single and double, and then came home on Schmidt’s single to right. Two innings later Sam Sturgis doubled and was knocked in on Grandmaison’s two-bagger.

Meanwhile, the Gorham hurler was perfect through the first three innings. He eventually let up a pair of infield hits – Adam Hamilton’s slow roller to third and McAlpine’s bouncer that Grandmaison was able to knock down – while striking out seven and walking no one.

“Grandmaison, because of the weather, has been missing starts,” said Rams coach Rocky Myers, “so it’s good to see him get back.”

The pitcher helped his own cause again in the fifth when he tripled to deep left field, sending home Schmidt, who had walked and made his way to third on a fly ball and a wild pitch.

Gorham added a pair of runs in the seventh when Sturgis, who was hit by a pitch, scored on Craig Woodbrey’s single. Pinch hitter Jon Crawford brought in Woodbrey with a single of his own.

Woodbrey took the mound in the home half of the last to close things out, striking out two.

“We’ve been waiting to put seven innings together defensively,” said Myers. “Offensively you need to be outside, but defensively is what you worry about when you have layovers (due to the recent rains). It’s nice to come out and play well defensively.”

The Rams, last season’s unbeaten Class B champs, seem to have made a smooth transition to Class A. Having an ace like Schmidt – 11-0 last year and 5-0 so far this year – certainly helps.

“When Schmidt goes on the hill these guys thrive on that,” Myers said. “We have a number one and two number twos. Woodbrey comes in and can close the door quickly. That’s nice. I like where we’re going right now. We’ve put ourselves in a good spot.”

Gorham finishes the regular season hosting Cheverus (May 23) and traveling to Portland (May 24) for a showdown with the unbeaten Bulldogs.

Westbrook, ranked ninth in the latest Heal-point standings, will likely slip after losing three in a row, including Monday at Marshwood, 10-6. The Blazes need to win their last couple, at Windham (May 23) and at South Portland (May 26) if they hope to sneak into the last of the 11 spots that qualify for the state tournament.

“I told them, ‘Keep believing in yourself. Put your work in and we will get better,'” said Eisenhart. “I’ve been through this with other teams, so I know what the progression is. You’ve got to take your licks and learn from it and get better.”