Sydney Dick hit into a fielder’s choice to push home Bella Perryman with the winning run in the ninth inning as the sixth-seeded Saints (7-9) beat the seventh-seeded Panthers (9-10) in a Class D South semifinal Auburn.

The Saints rode the arm of Kathleen Dean, who pitched all nine innings, striking out 10.

She’s our only pitcher so we rely on her a lot. She works on pitching year round and she’s our bread butter,” St. Dom’s coach Abigail Bowie said. “It’s really awesome, she was hitting her spots and her pitches were working.”

North Yarmouth Academy forced extra innings with a run in the seventh that tied the game at 5-5. The Panthers tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth for a 7-5 lead.

In the bottom half, the Saints’ bats woke up for the first time since the fifth inning, when they took the lead with a four-run rally highlighted by a Perryman home run.

“She’s been in a hitting slouch so the home run was huge,” Bowie said. “I kind of said to choke up and swing and it worked out.”

Bella Webster started the winning rally with a walk, and then Ava Apodaca and Perryman also reached safely and eventually scored.

“Everyone contributed and that’s all you can ask for in the playoffs,” Bowie said.

Acadia Gee led NYA with three hits. Jasmine Huntsman added a single and a double.