Bay View’s Jasmine Clarke slides back safely to first as Toll Gate’s Natalie Simas takes a late throw from catcher Ianna Wasser yesterday. Click here to see a gallery of photos.

The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

EAST PROVIDENCE — Before the high school softball season started, Bay View coach Dennis Kennedy warned his players that the defending state champs were going to get every opponent’s best effort.

Kennedy wasn’t sure that they fully appreciated what he was saying at the time.

If they didn’t then, they certainly do now.

However, the Bengals have also proven to be up to nearly every challenge they’ve been faced thus far. In just the type of matchup that Kennedy had been talking about, Bay View edged Toll Gate, 3-2, yesterday — improving to 9-1 and taking sole possession of first place in Division I.

“We were really excited for this game,” said senior center fielder Marlene DiRaimo, who scored the game-winner on Danielle Palms’ walk-off double in the seventh. “We knew it was going to be close no matter what, and we just tried to do the best that we could. When we came into the game, we just said that we’ve got to stay up and take it one inning and one play at a time. And if something doesn’t go as expected, shake it off and just go right to the next play.”

The Bengals — who suffered their first loss, a 4-1 setback to Coventry, last Thursday — took the lead in the first. Vanessa Poland led off with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Palms and scored on Kristen Mitchell’s groundout to second.

Toll Gate — one of three teams with two losses, along with La Salle and Westerly — tied it in the top of the fourth, thanks to a two-out single to center by Hillary Poncin.

The Bengals quickly jumped back on top as Jasmine Clarke roped a single to left that plated Fallon Scorpio.

Loading the bases with one out in the sixth, the Titans evened things up, courtesy of a wild pitch that allowed Ianna Wasser to score from third. But that’s all they got out of that inning, and Palms came through with her game-winning RBI double in Bay View’s last at-bat.

Marian Long improved to 9-0, scattering seven hits and striking out eight.

“You’ve got to credit Marian,” Kennedy said of the senior right-hander. “She was in a bunch of tight spots — runners at second with one out, first and second with no outs — and she did a great job of shutting them down. It really starts in the circle for us, and she’s done a great job.”

The error-free defense behind Long was also key, as it has been throughout the season, Kennedy said.

“I knew we could hit. I knew the offense was going to be fine this year,” he said. “But the play of our defense has just been at a level that far surpassed anything that I expected.”

Bay View is in for another big test tomorrow, when the Bengals head to La Salle for a 3:30 p.m. matchup. Toll Gate hosts Mount St. Charles tomorrow at 3:45 p.m.

cthorn@projo.com