SOUTH CHINA -- It was the most dominating pitching performance against Winslow in the past few years. Erskine sophomore Sam Morse retired the last 20 batters she faced, and only two of those batters hit the ball out of the infield.

But it was what Winslow did before the streak started that made the difference.

Katie Knowlen drove in what ended up being the winning run as the Black Raiders scored a pair of unearned runs in the first inning. Knowlen then pitched a four-hitter in the cold and rain to help Winslow squeak out a 2-1 victory in Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B softball action Monday afternoon.

"I'm just happy to get a win after all that," Winslow coach Terry Parlin said. "We didn't hit the ball very hard, and obviously Katie did a good job shutting them down after giving up a couple walks in the first."

Winslow (2-0) is always one of the top teams in the KVAC B, while Erskine is making a return to the league after spending the last two years in Class A. The Eagles were shaky in the first inning, as two errors and a walk loaded the bases for Beth Fisher.

Fisher walked to force in a run, then Knowlen followed with Winslow's only hit -- an RBI single to bring home Katie Caron. Morse retired the next 20 batters, but Winslow's small burst was enough.

"You take that first inning out, we hung with them the whole game," Erskine coach Mike Soule said. "Once (Sam) got in a groove, she was ready to throw. She was on today."

Erskine came back with a run in the bottom of the first on two walks and an RBI single by Ashley Richardson. Knowlen, who finished with nine strikeouts, fanned the next two batters to end the inning.

"My hand was really cold," Knowlen said. "A lot of my balls were dropping. I had to work on bringing it up higher. The conditions were pretty difficult, but I had to work through it."

Erskine threatened with two hits in the third inning, but second baseman Lindsay Gordon turned a line drive into a double play and Fisher gunned down a runner trying to steal. Erskine's last baserunner was Rachael Siegfriedt (2 for 3), who singled with two outs in the sixth inning.

Soule feels that the Eagles will be in most games with Morse's pitching and their normally strong defense. Parlin, meanwhile, knows that the Raiders are still in the favorite's role, but was concerned about his team's offense.

"She has pretty good velocity, and she mixed it up," Parlin said. "We haven't been hitting the ball hard. She did a great job of keeping us off balance. We were lucky to come out of that with the two runs we did."

Matt DiFilippo -- 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com