BIDDEFORD — Even in tough times, Biddeford pitcher Sarah Gilblair finds ways to be dominant.

Gilblair overcame early struggles on the mound to lead the Tigers softball team to an 8-2 win over Marshwood at Doran Park on Monday afternoon.

Gilblair finished with nine strikeouts, and showed production at the plate, going 2 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI.

“You can’t really show emotion [through the rough spots],” Gilblair said. “You just need to stay calm. If you show emotion, the whole team’s going to get into it, and you just can’t have it.”

The Tigers now own a five-game win streak to start the season, making the team one of five undefeated squads remaining in Western Class A softball.

“They don’t panic,” Biddeford head coach Leon Paquin said. “They believe in themselves. If it was a one inning game, we would have lost. But it’s not, it’s seven innings. We took it from there.”

While the Tigers have looked relatively flawless in those wins, Gilblair said the Tigers haven’t been perfect, yet.

“We make our mistakes, but I guess you can’t really tell, considering our wins,” Gilblair said.

Marshwood took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Ashley Eastman smacked an RBI double to center field, plating April St. Pierre for the 1-0 score.

Biddeford rebounded in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a leadoff double by Katelyn LeBreux, an RBI single by Heather Fecteau and an RBI double by Gilblair, giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

Fecteau plated Alyssa Baldinon on a sacrifice fly to give Biddeford a 4-1 lead in the second inning. The Tigers added two more runs in the third inning Kristina McCurry scored from third on a wild pitch and Renee Trottier plated Mariah Albert on an RBI groundout, giving the Tigers a 5-1 lead.

Biddeford added its final three runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by Gilblair’s second double of the game, as well as singles by Fecteau and Amethyst Hersom.

LeBreux led the Tigers offensively, going 3 for 4 at the plate. Fecteau went 2 for 3 with two RBIs in the contest.

St. Pierre and Samantha Crosman led the Hawks offensively, each going 2 for 4 at the plate.

Biddeford hits the road to play Gorham on Wednesday.

Short Hops: Kim Fortier, used as a courtesy runner for Gilblair in the fourth inning, was struck in the back of the head on a play at the plate and remained down for several minutes. On the play, Fortier, sliding into home, was hit in the back of her helmet on a throw from Marshwood third baseman Johnna Kashmer. Fortier, a senior, was able to move all of her limbs and seemed upbeat, but was still taken by ambulance to the hospital for precautionary reasons”¦

Because no junior varsity game was scheduled, the Tigers had several players at its disposal on Monday. With the game in hand in the later innings, Paquin made changes to get players some game experience.

“[Marshwood] didn’t have a JV team,” Paquin said. “So I had some girls come up, and I was glad to get them in and get them a little experience. A couple girls made some mistakes, but if you don’t get out there and learn, you never will.”

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318 or follow on Twitter @ Dave_Dyer