BIDDEFORD – Deering committed four errors and a couple of base-running blunders, but it was the last mistake that did the Rams in.

Biddeford, the defending Western Class A champion, scored the winning run on a balk in the seventh inning for a 4-3 victory in a Telegram League baseball game Tuesday at St. Louis Field.

With runners on first and third for Biddeford (2-0), Deering reliever Jamie Ross made a spin move to first but didn’t throw the ball. The umpires signaled balk and in trotted Chris Jones with the winning run. Ross should have stepped off the mound, a move he’s done countless times.

“I know I did it,” said Ross. “I was just hoping they wouldn’t notice it.”

The call ended a game in which both teams had chances to score more. The Tigers capitalized more than Deering (1-1), the defending league champion.

“You don’t see too many games won with a balk,” said Biddeford Coach Casey Roy. “It’s a weird way to win a game. This game was uncharacteristic of a Deering team. They’re kind of the measuring stick in this league and it’s good to see we can play with them.”

Pat Wilson relieved starter Tyler Audie with no outs in the fifth and got the win. Wilson delivered a two-run single down the right-field line in the fifth that put Biddeford ahead, 3-2.

“I went with the pitch,” said Wilson on his hit. “I thought it was going to go foul.”

The ball straightened out and fell a few inches inside the line. Jones and Audie, who opened the inning with singles, scored.

“This is a big win,” said Wilson. “Deering probably came in thinking they could beat us. We came back and got the win.”

The Rams took a 1-0 lead in the first when Ross lined a single to left with two outs that scored Matt Bevilacqua, who had walked.

Biddeford tied it in the second with two outs. Josh Aube walked, went to second on a passed ball and scored on Robert Cote’s single to right.

The Rams took a 2-1 lead in the fifth after John Hardy reached by beating the throw to first on a dropped third strike. Hardy scored when Nick Colucci’s pop fly in shallow center dropped for a hit.

The Tigers scored two in the bottom of the fifth, but Deering tied it in the sixth on John Miranda’s double that scored Ross, who opened the inning with a double.

“There were a lot of strange outs,” said Mark Sutton, the first-year Deering coach. “Biddeford played mistake-free baseball and we didn’t. We made some errors we normally don’t make, and we ran ourselves out of a couple of innings. That’s not our team.

“We have to settle down and not press.”

Roy took out Audie after he hit the second Deering batter he faced in the fifth.

Audie had given up only one hit.

“It’s early in the season and we don’t want to jeopardize Tyler’s arm, which was a little sore,” said Roy.

“Changing things up made sense. We have a lot of confidence in (Wilson). I thought he took control with his big hit and he was even bigger on the mound.”

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at: tchard@pressherald.com