KRISTEN CHIPMAN of Fryeburg Academy prepares to catch a line drive during recent varsity action. The Raiders remain undefeated and atop of the Class B West Heal Ratings. (Rivet Photo)

YARMOUTH — Their “swagger” may be back.

For weeks, Coach Fred Apt has warned his Fryeburg Academy softball team that every opponent would bring their “A” game in hopes of knocking off the defending Class B West champs.

He emphasized that unless the Raiders played with intensity and remained focus, they could be upset.

Yarmouth tested the Raiders’ mettle Monday, giving FA all they could handle in a 5-3 loss.

Fryeburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead as senior Maddie Pearson drilled a second pitch fastball off the left-center fence for a double with one out. Sarah Harriman pulled a 2-0 pitch into right field to score Pearson. Courtesy runner Julia Quinn rounded the bases when Kylie Locke singled sharply to center and the Clipper outfielder misplayed the ball, allowing the run to score.

Yarmouth cashed in on a walk and infield error to cut the FA lead to 2-1 in the second.

Both teams left runners in scoring position in the fourth. Yarmouth’s Michelle Robichaud slapped a double down the leftfield line and moved up on an infield out, but did not score as Harriman struck out Mari Cooper.

With two outs in the fifth, the Raiders quieted a boisterous Yarmouth squad as Pearson blasted a drive that cleared the centerfield fence. Harriman then crushed a fastball “right down the middle of the plate” over the rightfield fence for a 4-1 Raider lead.

On most days, that barrage would signal the end of the game. Not on Monday. With a heavy fog rolling across the diamond, Yarmouth appeared to have tied the game when Kallie Hutchinson clocked a home run to right with two teammates aboard.

But, the celebration was quickly tempered when FA Coach Fred Apt challenged whether the runner in front of Hutchinson had touched home plate. The home plate umpire also saw the missed touch and ruled the runner out.

Fryeburg added an insurance run in the seventh as Pearson (3-for-4, 3 runs scored) reached on an infield hit and later scored on a rope over the Yarmouth centerfielder’s head by Kylie Locke, good for a RBI double.

Admittedly pumped up by the challenge put forth by the Clippers, Harriman struck out four of the final seven hitters she faced to keep the Raiders perfect at 9-0.

“I am proud of the way you battled here today,” Coach Apt told his players after the game.

As Yarmouth players huddled for their post-game chat, Clipper players started to cheer. They had lost, but left the field with a moral victory. They had given the champs a battle.

Fryeburg players were again reminded that when you are the team everyone is shooting for, you better be up for the challenge each time out.

FA stat line: Harriman allowed just 3 hits while striking out 10. She did, however, issue a season high 5 walks.

FA’s heart of the order carried the day, collecting all 9 hits. Harriman was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, while Locke went 3-for-4 with a RBI. After a slow start to the season (0-for-10), Locke has been on a tear, going 11-for-21 to raise her average to .355.

In other action

Raiders 8, Sacopee 0. Sarah Harriman struck out 8 and allowed just 3 hits as the Raiders blanked the Hawks in South Hiram last Wednesday.

After a quiet first three innings, the Raiders finally broke through with a run in the fourth. Kylie Locke singled and later scored on a scorching line drive up the middle by Makayla Frost.

Fryeburg sent 12 players to bat in the fifth, scoring seven runs. Key hits were singles by Maddie Pearson, Harriman (2 RBI) and a RBI double into the gap by Sydney Charles.

For the Raiders, Locke was 2-for-4. Elle Burbank had a single in the fifth.

Raiders 17, York 0: Sophomore Kristen Chipman launched a two-run home run to deep center to spark a 4-run fourth as the Raiders hammered the Wildcats last Friday at York.

FA scored a run in the first as Carla Tripp (3-for-3, 4 runs scored) reached on a bunt single and later scored.

In the third, Fryeburg plated two runs on a Tripp single and two York errors.

Fryeburg exploded for 10 runs in the sixth inning as 14 players went to the plate. Key hits were by RBI singles from Maddie Pearson, Kylie Locke and Ellen Bacchiocchi. Pearson later drilled a 3-run double.

Sarah Harriman paced the 14-hit attack with a 4-for-4 day. Emily Davidson went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored.

Harriman struck out 8 Wildcats, walked 3 and allowed a sharp single up the middle in the second inning.