Bonny Eagle’s Kevin Moskevich is a pitcher who likes to mix up his stuff, change speeds and locate his pitches. He’s had good success doing that this season, going 5-1 with an ERA under 3.

But entering Wednesday’s Western Maine Class A prelim game against Kennebunk, the junior hurler got a different request from his coach.

“I told him to go out and throw the ball over the plate,” said Bonny Eagle skipper Marc Sawyer.

With the game postponed Tuesday due to rain, there was the possibility of three playoff games in four days, so the No. 6 Scots needed Moskevich to not only get them a win, but to go the distance and save the rest of the team’s arms.

Sawyer said informed his pitcher he’d likely have to go seven innings, telling him, “If you want to throw 150 pitches, throw 150. But I’d prefer if you kept it under 100. That’s what he did.”

Except for two solo homeruns, Moskevich kept the bats of the No. 11 Rams (5-12) at bay, striking out seven, allowing five hits and walking just one in a complete-game effort as Bonny Eagle (11-6) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-2 home win – the Scots’ first playoff victory in over a decade – in a game played at Gorham High School because of soggy field conditions in Standish.

Bonny Eagle took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as Travis Dunn knocked in Joe Davis with a single. Davis led off the inning with a double to center field, then took third on a wild pitch.

The Rams tied the score in the fourth on Pat Graydon’s towering blast over the left-field fence, but the Scots got the offense rolling in their half of the inning, sending 11 batters to the plate, the first six coming around to score.

Tyler Ruby legged out an infield hit to lead off. Ryan Nason walked. Both scored on John Simon’s double into the gap in left-center. Josh Ruby singled Simon home, stole second, went to third when the throw from the catcher sailed into the outfield, then trotted home on a wild pitch. Richie Harvey walked, Lincoln Sanborn singled, and both moved into scoring position on Tim Grovo’s sacrifice bunt. Dunn knocked Harvey and Sanborn in with a single, making it 7-1.

“We got a couple runs and got ahead of the game,” Moskevich said, adding that the run support allowed him to relax on the mound. He threw mostly fastballs – weaving in the occasional curve and changeup – allowing the defense to make plays behind him.

“We were able to make a lot of plays in the field,” Moskevich said. The Scots, who were error-prone throughout the regular season, had only one miscue in the game. Moskevich retired seven of the final eight batters he faced, with a homer down the line in right field by Rams’ pinch hitter Jack Habzda serving as the only interruption.

Sawyer said the two long balls were partially his fault for telling his pitcher to throw it over the plate, but that didn’t stop the coach and Moskevich’s teammates from ribbing him in the dugout.

“We asked if he was related to them because he pitched a great game and didn’t allow many hard-hit balls except for those two,” Sawyer said.

Davis, Dunn and Simon each had two hits for the Scots, who advanced to face No. 3 Scarborough in a game scheduled for Thursday (after this edition’s deadline and weather permitting). The semifinals are slated for Saturday.

Sawyer said the team didn’t mind having to take to the road to borrow Gorham’s field for a home game. “This is one of the best fields in southern Maine,” he said. “I wish we had an opportunity to play here more often simply because of the quality of the facility that this is.”