Gavin Rawstron, like the rest of the Class of 2021, didn’t get to have a junior seasons on the baseball field. He more than made up for it with a strong senior year, and the state took notice.

Rawstron, who played pitcher and shortstop for Oak Hill, is one of seven finalists for the John Winkin Award, which is given annually to the state’s best senior baseball player. Also making the cut are Cony pitcher and midfielder Kyle Douin, Bonny Eagle infielder Jacob Humphrey, Windham pitcher and catcher Brady Afthim, Bangor’s Bradley McLaughlin, Greely pitcher Brady Nolin and Medomak Valley’s Ethan Reed.

Rawstron got the nod after a strong season that included leading the Raiders to a 13-3 regular season record and the top seed in the Class C South tournament.

“It feels great, knowing how many athletes there are in Maine, to be one of those seven,” Rawstron said. “(This season) was great for our team. The past few years have been rough for Oak Hill baseball. We had a few losing seasons, a .500 season and losing in the tournament. We finally came back to having a nice season, we all came together strong.”

Rawstron was named the Mountain Valley Conference player of the year, and will be playing baseball next season for the University of Southern Maine. He said he was motivated to have a strong finishing season after the 2020 season was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.

“A bunch of guys on our team put a lot of work in when we lost the season, that summer,” he said. “A lot of guys played travel baseball, played summer baseball to get better for this year, because we knew what we were missing out on. We wanted to make this last one special.”

Douin, who played both pitcher and middle infield for the Rams, led Cony to an 8-8 record and the playoffs for the second straight season. He went 3-2 on the mound with a 2.02 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 33 innings, and also posted a .373 batting average with 12 RBI, two home runs and two triples.

“It feels pretty cool to be included in such an exclusive group of great baseball players,” Douin said. “It shows how all my hard work and dedication and hours at the field have paid off.”

Douin said last year’s circumstances got him to play this season like it could end at any moment.

“I was just trying to go and have the best season I possibly could to help my team out,” he said. “I didn’t want to have the season end on a bad note, so every single day I went in and gave it my all and played like it could be my last, which it very well could have. … That was my mentality this year. Don’t have any regrets.”

The winner will be announced Wednesday during the underclassmen All-Star Game, which will be played at St. Joseph’s College.

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