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BIDDEFORD — Before the season, there was a question mark in Class A South softball. Cheverus, the defending champion, was the team to beat. Windham, the perennial power, was the top challenger.

The third spot was anyone’s guess. As the season has progressed, however, Gorham has been revealing itself to be that team.

The latest example came Monday, when the Rams erupted in the third and fourth innings for a 17-3 victory over Biddeford in the rain at Doran Field.

The Rams, who got a grand slam from Terra Rioux and a solo shot from Sawyer VonderHaar, are now 10-1. The offense is rolling. The pitching, anchored by Deering transfer Bella McBrady, has been consistent. Even the defense, an area of uncertainty coming in, has sparkled.

“I think that we’ve really just played how we know we can, and been clean on defense and doing our job at the plate,” VonderHaar said. “We really have shown what we can do and what we have.”

How it happened

• Gorham was up 2-0 after two innings, but broke the game open by batting around in a six-run third. VonderHaar got the rally going with a leadoff shot to left on an 0-2 pitch.

“She was throwing me some junk so I was fouling it off, and I was waiting for a good one,” she said. “It was a little lower but I kind of went with it. It felt good coming off the bat.”

• Gorham, which drew 14 walks, batted around again in a nine-run fourth, and the exclamation point came when Rioux smacked a grand slam to left to make it 13-2.

“There’s nothing really like it,” said Rioux, who had never homered at any level before her shot. “I wasn’t really expecting it, at all. It felt really good. It’s one of those hits where you don’t even feel the ball, and it sails.”

Finding balance

• Offense has been a strength for the Rams all season. They have now scored 111 runs in 11 games, an average of 10.1 runs per game, and have scored eight runs or more seven times.

“We’re playing good softball right now,” coach Jason Dubail said. “We might not always score a lot of runs, but I feel like we have good approaches at the plate, which means, in the long run, we’re going to score a lot.”

Seven of Gorham’s nine starters, including Lucy Dubail, Tatum Wing, Abbie Buckelew and Brooklyn Giroux in the last four spots of the lineup, had hits Monday.

• Gorham, though, can win games different ways. Four times this year, the Rams have been held to five or fewer runs. They’ve won three of them, including a 2-0 win over Scarborough, and in the one loss to Addison DeRoche and Cheverus, McBrady kept the powerful Stags to two runs.

“It definitely feels good knowing we can play on both sides,” VonderHaar said. “We can hit well and put the ball in play, but if we’re not hitting so well, Bella goes and shuts it down.”

Individual statistics

• Gorham: Terra Rioux (2 for 2, home run, five RBI), Sawyer VonderHaar (1 for 3, home run), Abbie Buckelew (1 for 2, two RBI), Tatum Wing (1 for 2, two RBI), Bella McBrady (four innings, four hits, two earned runs, two strikeouts).

• Biddeford: Jaylah Trottier (2 for 2, run), Mariah Villandry (1 for 3, run), Madi Roy (1 for 2), Gabby Smith (1 for 3).

Notable quotes

• “Bella’s a special pitcher, and she’s been everything and that much more this season. When we’ve needed her, she’s always there.” — Jason Dubail

• “It wasn’t an easy day, but not one of the kids used the weather as an excuse. Every one of them gave everything that they had, it just wasn’t the day for us.” — Biddeford (5-4) coach Don Stanhope.