When Gorham and South Portland met on the softball diamond last regular season, it took four hours and 16 innings before Gorham finally snuck away with a 2-1 road win.

On Friday, the teams met in Gorham and, with the game knotted in the fifth inning, it looked like once again, seven innings just might not be enough.

“When it got 1-1 in the fifth inning, I just said, ‘Oh, God. We don’t need to go 10 or 15 innings here again. We’ve already had extra innings twice this season,'” said Gorham coach Pete Walker.

The meat of the Rams lineup made sure everyone got home in time for dinner, springing for three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Gorham went on to a 4-1 victory over the Red Riots, which made both teams 10-2.

Mia McGill was hit in the helmet with a pitch to begin the Gorham half of the fifth. Megan Meehan came on to run for her. (McGill later returned to action). After a sacrifice bunt and a fly out, Rachel Fogarty, the No. 3 hitter, broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI double.

“I figured she was going to throw me inside, which she did,” Fogarty said. “I was just trying to make contact.”

Cleanup hitter Kelsey Crowe followed with a double to score Fogarty, and Sara Burnheimer knocked in Liz Lamontagne (a courtesy runner for the pitcher Crowe) with a bloop single, making it 4-1.

“That one inning there, we had a couple youthful mistakes there, but that’s a good ball club,” said first-year South Portland coach Ralph Aceto. “They’re well coached. They know what to do and when to do it. I tip my hat to them.”

While most of the veteran Gorham team was there for last season’s marathon, the South Portland dugout has a lot of new faces. The young team has made the most of an advantageous first two-thirds of its schedule, gaining confidence and experience. Sophomore Alexis Bogdanovich pitched well once again, striking out 10 while throwing a complete game.

“I was very impressed with the South Portland team,” Walker said. “They do a nice job. They didn’t have to worry about rebuilding. They’re right there. They don’t have to judge where they are – they’re there.”

Of the Riots’ final five games (Gorham being the first of that bunch), they face four of the SMAA’s top teams.

“I told them before this game that our season starts today,” Aceto said. “We haven’t faced the Scarboroughs, the Thorntons, the Gorhams, the Biddefords. We’ve done well to get where we are, but we’ve still got a lot of room for improvement.”

Gorham took the lead right away as Lauren Chouinard doubled to start the bottom of the first, advanced on a fielder’s choice, then scored on a double steal.

South Portland tied it up in the top of the fifth as Danielle DiBiase reached on an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Melissa Thomes, and then scored on Kaitlin Norton’s single.

The Riots had a base runner in every inning but the last one and stranded two runners on base in the first, second and sixth innings.

The game ended on a diving catch in center field by Fogarty on a well-struck ball by Norton.

“I was actually going (to the right) because I saw it was an off-speed pitch,” Fogarty said. “I kind of lucked out.”

Crowe struck out nine in a complete game for the Rams.

Kalie Swiger doubled in the sixth inning for South Portland.