Waterville catcher Derek Davis attempts the tag as Winslow’s Ethan LaChance slides into home Tuesday in Winslow. Morning Sentinel photo by David Leaming

WINSLOW — On a day that felt more suited to March than May, the Winslow High School baseball team ended a season of improvement on a strong note. Coming off a one-win season, Tuesday’s 8-2 victory over rival Waterville ended the Black Raiders at 5-11.

“We made huge strides this season,” Winslow first-year coach Bob Chenard said. “Today they came ready to play.”

Steady rain and temperatures in the high 40s made for a cold and wet game. When Waterville shortstop Joe Hamelin was injured slipping on home plate as he scored in the top of the sixth inning, the umpires called a halt to the game. With more than five innings completed, the game stands as official.

Waterville’s Cam Denis slides into second base as Winslow’s Justin LaFlamme fields a throw Tuesday in Winslow. Morning Sentinel photo by David Leaming

“Right now it looks like an ankle injury. We’ll deal with it. Right now, we’ve got another (game) tomorrow, so we’ll probably give (Hamelin) the day off and see what it looks like after,” Waterville coach Russell Beckwith said. “It’s unfortunate it happens at the end of that, especially when we get a little momentum swing there finally. I could tell it was going to happen eventually.”

Waterville, now 7-8, closes the regular season Wednesday at Nokomis.

For Winslow, everything started with starting pitcher Ethan Lachance, who went 5 2/3 innings for the win. While the rain made gripping the baseball tougher, Lachance was consistently around the plate, striking out nine while walking three and allowing four hits.

“In the rain, the ball’s slippery all the time. The two seam fastball didn’t cut that much, but four seam was working good. Curve was working good,” Lachance said.

Added Chenard:  “Ethan came out and the first pitch was a curveball, so we knew he was going to be on today.”

Ahead 2-1 after three innings, Winslow broke the game open with two runs in the fourth and four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. RBI singles by Jackson Reynolds and Reid Gagnon in the fourth gave the Black Raiders a 4-1 lead. In the fifth, Winslow capitalized on two Purple Panther errors and got a timely hit from Reynolds, a three-run double.

Gagnon had three hits for Winslow, while Cody Ivey hit an RBI triple.

“We were aggressive on the bases, to begin with. Our bats came to life. We hit the ball today,” Chenard said.

With one more game in the regular season and the Class B North playoffs to come, Waterville won’t dwell on a loss in difficult conditions, Beckwith said.

“I think that’s just a lesson for us on how to handle adversity. That’s something we’ll get to talk about (Wednesday on the ride to Nokomis,” Beckwith said. “(Lachance) placed the ball around the plate and we didn’t come up with the timely hit. We didn’t do what we have to do to move some runners around and have some fun.”

David Barre had a pair of hits and scored a run for Waterville. Jack Thompson had an RBI single for the Panthers.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: TLazarczykMTM