WINSLOW — The first time they met, the Winslow and Waterville baseball teams engaged in a slugfest.
So naturally, Monday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B matchup between the two teams was a pitchers’ duel.
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Logan Hewes pitched a complete-game shutout and Winslow earned its second win this season against Waterville, beating the Purple Panthers 2-0.
Winslow also beat Waterville 17-11 on April 19, snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Panthers.
The win was in doubt until the final out of the game. Waterville (6-2) loaded the bases in the seventh inning with two outs. Hewes remained calm, despite going to a 3-2 count against Waterville shortstop Tyler Bouchard. Hewes threw a fastball past Bouchard to end the game as Winslow improved to 8-0.
“There were some clutch hits, certainly a solid performance from Logan,” Winslow coach Jesse LaCasse said. “He did an amazing job keeping them off balance. He’s the type of guy that does that, that’s his third great start of the year. That was great to see from him.”
Both teams entered the game averaging 10 runs per game, but Hewes, a senior, allowed just two hits on his way to the shutout. He was able to mix breaking balls in with an effective fastball, nipping both sides of the plate.
“Keeping the ball low, mixing it up, keeping them on their toes,” Hewes said. “That’s basically what I try to do. Keep them off balance. We work well as a team. Our bats came around.”
Hewes struck out four and walked two.
Winslow made four errors, but still helped Hewes out defensively. With a runner on third with two outs in the fourth inning, Waterville second baseman Cam Gardiner hit a fly ball that hugged the right field foul line. Winslow right fielder Alex Berard fought with a swirling wind, dove and made the catch in foul territory to end the inning.
“I’m glad he made that (catch),” Hewes said. “That was very impressive, I have to to say, definitely impressive.”
The Panthers left a total of five runners on base in the first two innings, then left the bases loaded in the seventh.
“We know, with bases loaded in the first, bases loaded in the seventh, two runners in the second, a lot of stuff in between,” Sawyer said. “That’s just too many to leave on base. No hitting today whatsoever. Logan did a great job mixing up his pitches and locations. Kept our hitters guessing.”
Waterville pitcher Brian Bellows was effective as well, going six innings, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out three and walking one. Winslow took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Zach Guptill tripled past the diving Alan Wood and scored on an error three batters later.
The Black Raiders added an insurance run in the sixth inning when Guptill, who led the inning off with a single, scored from third on a fielder’s choice.
“We’ve watched (Bellows) pitch a few times, and he’s the first lefty we’ve seen,” LaCasse said. “We talk a lot about lefties, how when the ball comes in, if you can sit on it, you can drive it. They didn’t do it early, they did it late, but it was good to see.”
Guptill, a junior, went 2 for 3.
Dave Dyer — 621-5639
ddyer@centralmaine.com
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