PLYMOUTH — Coe-Brown sophomore Kylie Bieniek walked the first Bow hitter she faced on Tuesday night to start the Division II softball semifinal. Relatively inexperienced at the high school level, things could’ve gone south quickly from there. Instead, the complete opposite happened.

Bieniek dominated, retiring 21 of the next 22 batters she faced. When the Falcons’ Reis Domini popped up to second base with two outs in the top of the seventh and the Bears leading 4-0, Bieniek completed the milestone: a no-hitter. With a state championship game berth on the line, the sophomore right-hander guided the way.

Seven innings, no hits, two walks, 12 strikeouts.

“She actually buckles down and gets faster and plays harder when the times are tougher, so that’s her best quality,” Coe-Brown head coach Dave Allis said. “It’s good for us.”

The top-seeded Bears (17-1) got the scoring started quickly in the bottom of the first inning. Junior Haile Comeau tripled into the right-center field gap and promptly scored with Bella Pelletier at the plate on a wild pitch. Coe-Brown added two more in the fourth on a two-run double from Bieniek and a fourth run in the sixth when a Bow error allowed the Bears to add some cushion.

And while the offense showed up in key spots, it was the Bears’ defense that shined even brighter. Numerous plays — including a diving snag from shortstop Annie Jerome and a liner caught at first by Addison Coffin — were among the highlights. Normally, Coe-Brown’s defense flies under the radar, steady but not flashy. On Tuesday, it galvanized the Bears en route to their win.

“It’s funny because hitting usually leads the charge with this team, and then our defense and pitching are just there always,” Allis said. “Great plays in the outfield, diving plays in the infield. They’re just smart ballplayers. They’re good, they’re smart, tight. We’re really happy with them.”

One obstacle remains in the way of Coe-Brown defending its state title: rival Oyster River, the only team to beat the Bears this season. That game, the first of the year, was a 5-1 loss back on April 10. Coe-Brown subsequently beat the Bobcats, 3-2, on May 6.

Saturday will be for all the marbles.

The Bears haven’t lost since that first game of the year, now riding a 17-game win streak; Oyster River, meanwhile, will carry a six-game winning streak into action. Players on both sides grew up playing together in Barrington. Whatever anxiety and tension normally exists heading into a championship game will only be heightened. But if Tuesday was any indication, when the pressure ramps up, Coe-Brown knows how to respond.

“We always practice that part, but it’s hard,” Allis said of controlling the team’s emotions entering the game. “If you think about it, how hard is that to do? But they usually do a really good job.

“Championship game is always tight.”