Austin pitcher Hunter Lewis wanted to make his senior day a memorable one and he did just that as he helped the Packers beat Winona 6-5 in the Riverland baseball complex Wednesday.

Lewis pitched a complete game in Austin’s season opener, but he rarely goes past the fifth inning in most of his starts. That changed on Wednesday as Lewis went six and two-thirds innings while allowing just five hits and one earned run. Isaac Schumacher finally came on in relief to get the final out in the seventh when Winona had runners on first and second with two outs.

“He normally does not go through three rotations of their lineup,” Austin head coach Chris Gogolewski said of Lewis. “I made mentions to him that I was ready for [Schumacher] and [Hunter] wanted it every time. He wanted to keep going in. I love that from a pitcher because that shows that he wants that win.”

Lewis looked to be near the end of his day when the Winhawks pulled within 4-3 with a two-out single after Lewis had walked two straight hitters in the top of the fourth inning. But Lewis bounced back and he retired nine out of the next 10 hitters in order.

“I was feeling good and I thought I could get those last few outs in the last two innings,” Lewis said. “We have a doubleheader scheduled on Thursday and another game Saturday and I wanted to stay out there to save as many arms as possible.”

The Packers (3-9 overall) answered Winona’s rally in the bottom of the fourth when Nate Conner launched a two-out, two-run double into deep left field to put the Packers up 6-3. Austin held onto that lead until the Winhawks (4-8 overall) tallied two runs in the top of the seventh.

Goglewski said the win should help the Packers down the stretch as they have six games remaining in the season.

“We want to have wins because we want to make sure we can practice and repeat these performances,” Goglewski said. “When they made it 6-5, we didn’t hang our heads and we had confidence in our next pitcher. These guys put together a seven inning game and they didn’t let up.”

Austin has won two out of three games and the Packers are scheduled to host Rochester Century in a doubleheader Thursday at 5 p.m. The Packers are hoping to peak by the Section 1AAA tournament, which begins May 21.

Austin junior Alex Ciola, who was 1-for-2 Wednesday, said the Packers are looking to stay competitive and Wednesday’s win is a confidence builder.

“We needed this. We needed a confidence boost and we got it,” Ciola said. “Now we’ve got to get rolling to finish out the year. We feel like we can beat anyone. We’re not afraid of anyone and we’re going to go as hard as we can and see what happens.”

Winona 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 — 5 5 3

Austin 0 4 0 2 0 0 X — 6 7 2

Austin pitching: Hunter Lewis (W) 6 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 5 R, 1 ER, 2 K, 2 HBP; Isaac Schumacher (S) 1/3 IP, 0 R

Austin hitting: Dylan Gasner, 1-for-3, 2 R; Alex Ciola, 1-for-2, 2 R, BB, HBP; Nate Conner, 3-for-4, double, 2 RBIs; Jason Stoulil, 0-for-2, BB; Nik Gasner, 0-for-3; Jake Reinartz, 2-for-3, R; Riley Wagner, 0-for-1, R, BB; Brady McDermott, 0-for-1; Schumacher, 0-for-3; Shaun Case, 0-for-1