AUGUSTA — There’s still a steep hill to climb for Saco/Dayton in the Maine Little League Baseball state tournament, but confidence is growing with each win.

On Wednesday night, the District 4 champion eliminated defending state champion Machias with a 6-2 win at Linscott Field, relying on its biggest strengths — pitching and defense.

“Our defense is the best in the state, hands down,” said Saco/Dayton coach Nick Laskey. “We have the best pitching staff, we’re deep, and that’s why we’re here.”

Starting pitcher Theo Beliveau earned the win, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six. He walked three. Nicholas Laskey II wrapped up the game with 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief.

“We’re just trying to stay positive,” Beliveau said. “I used my fastball a lot. The lower (part of the batter order) was pretty easy.”

No errors were made by Saco/Dayton. After scoring both of its runs in the first inning, Machias only had two hits for the remainder of the game.

Saco/Dayton will need a similar effort against undefeated Gray-New Gloucester to claim the state championship. Those teams play at 6 p.m. Thursday. If Saco/Dayton wins, a final game would be played Friday.

“We’re pumped,” said Nicholas Laskey II. “We’re going to go out there, play our game. It’s going to be a good battle. We’re hitting the ball, getting it down, scoring runs. It’s great.”

Beliveau used a good mix of movement with his pitches and was well supported by catcher Julian Neang. Little League Baseball has caught up with modern technology: Saco/Dayton was using one-way communication between coaches and Neang, who had an earpiece under his mask, to relay pitch signals. The practice — common in Major League Baseball — is already allowed at the high school level by the Maine Principals’ Association and is also legal in Little League Baseball.

Offensively, Saco/Dayton was led by Cayden Stefanilo, who had a two-run single to right field during a five-run third inning.

Cyrus Meyer struck out nine in 3 1/3 innings of relief for Machias.