POLAND — When one scoreless inning followed another Monday afternoon, it was apparent that somebody was going to have to deliver the clutch hit at some point to end the stalemate.

Players in each dugout began thinking about that possibility, and Fryeburg’s sophomore center fielder wondered if it could be her.

“I was really hoping I’d get that chance up there,” Fryeburg’s Mackenzie Buzzell said. “I think all throughout the game, we were all waiting for that one hit to start it all off, and I think it happened in that last inning.”

Buzzell came up with runners on and two outs. She belted a single that plated Julia Quinn for the go-ahead run. The Raiders shutdown Poland in the bottom of the inning for the 2-1 victory.

“It was nerve-wracking for all of us,” Buzzell said. “I think we were all pretty much on our toes and ready.”

It was pitcher’s battle for the entire game. Poland’s Kylie Martin and Fryeburg’s Nicole Bennett were both superb. Martin scattered seven hits and struck out 11 and walked just one. Bennett allowed just three hits and struck out three while walking none.

“Both pitchers pitched well,” Fryeburg coach Fred Apt said. “We both made some defensive mistakes early, but we came through with some timely hits in the first and the seventh.”

It was the first loss for the Knights (2-1) and a good test against a Fryeburg team that could be a playoff contender in Western B. Though the Raiders (2-0) are young, Apt, who coached the team to three state titles in a span of four years, returns to a team that has great potential.

“Fryeburg is not a team that ever has an off year,” Poland coach Kat McKay said. “They’ve always been competitive, and we knew that coming into this game.”

The Raiders produced the winning run with three hits in the seventh inning. A lead-off single by Amanda Gillette started it. She was forced out at second on a Faith Pelkie grounder. She was erased on a Julia Quinn grounder for the second out. Quinn then stole second and Buzzell followed with a two-out hit to center. Poland was slow in getting the relay throw to the plate, and Quinn scored easily.

“I’ve been working a lot on staying level with my bat head,” Buzzell said. “So going up, I was just trying to stay confident and saying to myself every time, ‘OK, this is my pitch.’ I hit it level and felt it pop and it felt good.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Bennett got a groundout and struck out the next two Poland batters to end the game. Though Poland had a pair of hits in the fifth, the Knights stranded two runners and didn’t get a hit over the final two innings.

“I kept telling my girls that somebody was going to open it up and I wanted it to be us,” McKay said. “Nobody really opened up the game, but Fryeburg produced enough.”

Kristen Chipman led the Raiders with three hits and scored a run. Buzzell had a pair of hits, including the game-winner. Poland’s hits came from Emily Gibson, Kalor Plummer and Sarah Walton.

“The top five of their lineup is pretty deadly,” McKay said. “They’re quick on the bases, the first two or three of them and then the power hitters come up behind them.”

Fryeburg took the 1-0 lead in the first. Buzzell reached on an error and was erased on a Chipman fielder’s choice. Then Bennett drilled a double. Martin then struck out six in a row and eight of the next 10.

“Kylie was throwing smoke,” McKay said. “I don’t know how many hits she let up, but it wasn’t many. It was enough to score two runs.”

Poland tied the game in the second, taking advantage of a pair of Fryeburg errors. After Haley Whitworth reached on an error, she scored with two outs on a miscue of a Plummer grounder.

“We’re a young team,” Apt said. “Our seniors, Chipman, she had a couple of errors but she kept them calm. She was settling them down and telling them we can work through this.”

Poland had a chance in the fourth with two runners on, but the Knights stranded one when a runner was called out for leaving early. Fryeburg threatened in the fifth and had two runners on. Martin struck out Bennett to end the inning. The Raiders stranded four runners total between the third and fifth innings.

“(Kylie) struck out a bunch of us,” Apt said. “We tried to move up on the plate. We started to put the ball in play. Then in the seventh, we did it.”

kmills@sunjournal.com