WATERVILLE — When things are going well, a team doesn’t have to play its best baseball to pull out a win. That was the case for Winslow High School on Wednesday afternoon against rival Waterville. The Black Raiders made four errors and still managed to take a 6-3 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B win.

The victory gave Winslow (13-1) a season sweep over Waterville (9-5). The Black Raiders won the first meeting, 10-0, on opening day in April.

“All facets, we didn’t play our best, but still being able to get a win not playing our best baseball is big. They’ve obviously improved since the last time we saw them. They’re going to be a tough out in the playoffs. It was a good win,” Winslow coach Aaron Wolfe said.

Ahead 3-2 going to the seventh inning, the Black Raiders scored three runs to give themselves a cushion. Ben Smith led off the top of the seventh with an infield single, then went from first to third on a wild pitch.

“We try to be aggressive on the bases. I saw it got by him, so I tried to take the extra base there,” Smith, who had two hits and scored three runs, said.

Smith scored on a Dameron Rodrigue single, and Rodrigue scored on Jake Trask’s triple to right field. A Luke Fredette sacrifice fly to right scored Trask, and Winslow had a 6-2 lead.

The Purple Panthers got a run back in the bottom of the seventh. Andrew Rodrigue doubled and scored when Cody Pellerin reached on a fielder’s choice. Waterville left two runners on in the seventh inning and stranded nine runners on base for the game.

“A couple plays here and there. We left a few runners on,” Waterville coach Dennis Martin said.

Waterville had a pair of runners thrown out trying to steal in the first inning, and in the fifth, Pellerin was tagged out on a missed suicide squeeze. The pitch on which Pellerin ran was in the dirt and, coaching third base, Martin thought the ball slid past Winslow catcher Dameron Rodrigue.

“I actually thought the ball would go back, and the catcher made a good play,” Martin said. “We’ve been aggressive on the bases all year. It cost us a couple, I guess.”

Trask, Winslow’s ace, wasn’t as sharp as he’d been in recent outings, but was still able to work out of jams. Waterville did its best to slow down the fast-working senior, often calling time and stepping out of the batter’s box. Trask allowed seven hits and three walks while striking out eight.

“A lot of teams have been doing that lately, or trying to do that. I don’t think it necessarily bothers him,” Wolfe said of Waterville slowing Trask down.

The Black Raiders took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first inning. Smith reached on an infield single and later scored on a throwing error. Trask scored on Patrick Hopkins’ double.

Waterville cut the lead to 2-1 when Pellerin scored on a wild pitch in the third. After Smith scored on a wild pitch in the fifth for a 3-1 Winslow lead, the Panthers answered in the bottom of the inning when Justin Wentworth scored from first base on a throwing error.

Adam Barre started and went 6 1/3 innings for the Panthers, allowing five hits while striking out six.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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