SUDBURY — McCoy Walsh was three strikes away from laying the foundation for victory. Kelsey Blanchette was one swing away from swaying the tide.

The pitchers’ duel between the pair of Division 1 bound hurlers was thrown into a pressure cooker in the fifth inning between King Philip and Lincoln-Sudbury on Friday.

Walsh (Hofstra) and Blanchette (UMass) had been trading figurative jabs all game ahead of the pivotal face-to-face encounter.

Blanchette put the barrel on the ball, but her fly to left field was just short of clearing the fence and flipping the script. With a 2-0 lead in her back pocket, Walsh returned to the King Philip dugout with the conviction she needed to win all facets of the battle.

King Philip brought its lead to the finish line, earning a 2-0 victory in its penultimate contest of the regular season behind a dominant 11-strikeout complete game from Walsh.

“That’s a good outing for her,” said King Philip head coach Kate Fallon. “She was solid. She did really well battling the elements.”

Lincoln-Sudbury’s Natalie Gaeta celebrates making it to first base during a softball game at home. King Philip was a 2-0 winner. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

Walsh went toe to toe with Blanchette in the postseason last spring en route to a King Philip victory that eventually led to a loss in the state finals.

“You don’t really get that every day, so it definitely does feel like a little bit of a pitchers’ duel,” Walsh said. “It’s always great to compete. We played her last year, and she’s great. I love playing her.”

Both hurlers found their groove in the early innings. Lincoln-Sudbury (15-5) drew a pair of walks to apply immediate pressure on King Philip (18-3) in the opening inning, but Walsh dug in. She spun three consecutive strikeouts to escape the jam.

From there, offense was at a premium. Blanchette (13 strikeouts) retired the side in the first two frames before King Philip opened the scoring in the third. Catalyzed by a Liv Wainwright base hit, a piercing RBI double off the bat of Annabelle Curran (2-for-4) placed the visitors in the driver’s seat with a 1-0 lead.

Lincoln-Sudbury’s Ella Cooley inches toward home plate during a softball game in Sudbury. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

Eliana Krasnow laced a double in the home half of the inning, but Walsh didn’t allow the offensive jolt to mount further. Her poise in the circle set the table for an insurance run in the fifth, as King Philip took advantage of an L-S miscue on a ground ball to third base put in play by Ali Gill to double its lead.

It let to the fifth inning drama, where Walsh retired Blanchette with the bases loaded.

“It kind of makes me feel like I win two things at once,” Walsh said, laughing.

Walsh scattered one hit in the seventh inning at the hands of Lincoln Sudbury’s Ella Cooley, but she was able to escape unscathed to put the finishing touches on her shutout.

Central Catholic looms on the docket on Saturday in the regular season finale for King Philip. Then it’s on to unfinished business in the state tournament.

“We’re really excited,” Walsh said. “Hard work to come definitely, but we’re ready.”