WINSLOW — Oceanside High School pitcher Nick Mazurek had looked forward to Monday’s game at Winslow since last June 12. On that day, the Black Raiders went to Rockland and knocked Mazurek all over the park to beat the Mariners in a playoff game by eight runs.
“I’ve been wanting to throw against them ever since. A minute after that game ended,” Mazurek said.
On Monday afternoon at Nivison Diamond, whatever frustrations Mazurek still had from that playoff loss were gone, and the hard-throwing junior was dominant. Mazurek allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out nine in a 7-1 win. Both teams are now 6-2 in Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference play.
“He talked to me the day after that (playoff) game and said ‘If we get them next year, I want it.’ That’s the type of competitor he is,” Oceanside coach Don Shields said. “He walked one guy today. That’s his first walk all season. He’s the best pitcher in the KVAC, bar none. If there’s one better than him, I haven’t seen him yet. I knew if we got a few runs today, we’d be set. We got those runs early, and I thought, we’re good.”
Mazurek gave up an infield single to Winslow leadoff hitter Ben Smith, and did not allow another hit until Dylan Hapworth doubled to deep left field in the bottom of the seventh. Winslow’s only other baserunner was Dameron Rodrigue, who walked to leadoff the fourth but was thrown out trying to go from second base to third on a flyout to right field.
“(Mazurek’s) one of the best pitchers in the league, definitely. Getting a couple of runs in the third inning helped them be in control of the game,” Winslow coach Aaron Wolfe said.
The Mariners scored twice in the third inning, on RBI singles by Caleb Jacob and Mazurek, to take a 2-0 lead. Oceanside added four runs in the fifth inning, all with two outs. Riley Sprague singled to score Jimmy Strong, and Thomas Curtis drove in two more runs with a single, and scored on Mazlin Higbee’s base hit. The Mariners added an unearned run in the sixth when Mazurek drove in Strong (three hits and three runs) after an error extended the inning.
“We had a couple key mistakes which gave them runs and kind of put the game out of reach. Those were key errors,” Wolfe said.
Meanwhile, Mazurek cruised. He felt his best pitch was his offspeed stuff, and he worked the corners of the plate well. Five of Mazurek’s nine strikeouts were looking, as he kept the Black Raiders hitters guessing throughout the game.
“I was able to mix it up, keep them off balance, and I was able to be unpredictable. I was confident enough to throw a curveball in a 2-0 count, or behind in the count, so they don’t know it’s coming, and still throw it for strikes. I spotted it really well today,” Mazurek said.
Jake Trask pitched the first six innings for Winslow, and aside from the four runs allowed in the fifth, threw well. Trask struck out nine and walked one.
“(Trask) threw hard, and he had a really good breaking ball that snapped. We just had to be patient and find that one,” Mazurek said. “We got enough, and we started scoring runs, then we got on a roll. Once we got rolling, there’s really no stopping us.”
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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