Bonny Eagle came to life in the fifth on Saturday morning – and with two outs, no less. But even a flurry of late hitting by Kyle Labrecque, Max Salevsky and Mat Bridges couldn’t catch them up to visiting Deering, who ultimately held on for the 5-3 win.

The Scots simply weren’t in the right headspace to start the game, according to head coach Rick Hession. “Some mental mistakes early. [Deering] did a good job putting the ball in play; they strung some hits together early, so that kind of put us in a little bit of a hole. And we weren’t getting the big hits early; we started getting them a little bit later, but we weren’t getting them with guys on, early in the game.”

The result dropped the Scots to 4-3 on the year. The team sits 10th in A West, one slot behind Cheverus (4-2) and one ahead of Westbrook (2-4).

The Rams jumped on top quick Saturday morning. Leadoff hitter Kevin Goldberg singled, and crossed home on Nick Bevilacqua’s at-bat. Deering added two more in the top of the third – Bevilacqua and Dan Bernard rounded the bases for 3-0 – but Bonny Eagle refused to be left entirely behind and unearthed a run of their own in the bottom of the same inning. Dana McKay singled to start the ups, then stole second; he tagged home on Devin Butler’s 4-3 groundout.

The Rams charged further ahead again in the fifth, grabbing a 5-1 advantage on a trio of singles, and a pair of too-slow Bonny Eagle throws. Ian Westphal grounded into left to open the inning, and reached third when Bevilacqua slid one into left as well. The 6-3 throw to catch Bevilacqua arrived late, as did the 3-5 attempt to catch Westphal. Both made it home again when Patrick Viola knocked yet another grounder into left.

The Scots’ early struggles came more on the defensive side of the ball than at the plate. “We made some mental mistakes in the field more so than offensively,” said Hession.

But they were also slow to make much contact, as well. “We started generating runs because guys were putting real good at-bats together, later in the game, and capitalizing on some pitches they were looking for.”

Bonny Eagle found something of a groove in the bottom of the fifth, however. They gave up two immediate outs to begin, but then Butler walked. Labrecque drove a single that pushed Butler to third, and Salevsky then dropped a ball in shallow center, scoring Butler and advancing Labrecque to second.

Bridges followed up with a drive to left, bringing Labrecque home again for 5-3, but Deering escaped without further injury when Noah Scribner grounded out to short.

The Scots generated more danger for the Rams in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn’t ultimately capitalize. Down two strikes, Salevsky battled and battled with Deering ace Sam Luebbert. Salevsky finally managed to launch a single into center, but Bridges, next to the plate, went down swinging, and the day came to a close.

Hession expressed happiness at the way his boys improved during the course of the bout: “I thought there were a lot of guys who came back and did a lot of good things after making some mistakes early,” he said. “So I don’t know if there was anyone who played the complete game that we’re looking for from guys. But the best part was, those guys that made some mistakes early came back, and came through later in the game.”

Still, he looks to get his the team mentally prepped and invested in every matchup from the start to finish. “It’s confidence,” he said. “And making sure I’m putting the guys in the right spots, where they need to be. And the guys working hard – doing what they’ve been doing – every practice; I think we’ve improved from Day 1 in the gym in late March to now. And making sure we’re not taking any steps back. And working our butts off for the rest of the time.”

Bonny Eagle traveled to No. 12 Windham (3-3) on Tuesday the 12th, after Current Publishing’s print deadlines. They host No. 15 Biddeford (1-6) on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Bonny Eagle’s Dana McKay takes a cut at the plate against Deering on Saturday.Dana McKay kicks up a cloud of dust as he slides safely into second for Bonny Eagle on Saturday.Scots catcher Christian Napolitano awaits the throw behind the plate.Bonny Eagle’s Devin Butler drops into a slide on his way to third while Deering baseman James Sinclair awaits the throw from second.A clan of Scots watches the action on the diamond from inside the home team dugout.Noah Scribner hurls a ball toward home. Scribner relieved Bonny Eagle starting pitcher Dana McKay in the sixth inning.