They were down, sure, but no way were they out.

Stay the course, they told themselves. We know we’re capable. We’ve been there before. A couple of bad breaks and a mistake here and there aren’t the end of the world. We’ll be just fine.

Then, by putting that eyes-forward mindset into practice, the Powhatan Indians went on to score a 5-1 victory over visiting Clover Hill Thursday on the Baltimore-Conner Field.

On a warm evening under the merciful cover of clouds, Coach Duane Partusch’s crew, mostly underclassmen, opened sluggishly against the locked-in-and-ready-to-rock Cavaliers and found themselves trailing 1-0 after two innings.

The early deficit, created when Noah Putney smacked a single to right to score Carson Hupp was just one problem the Indians encountered.

The other was that they could muster only a whimper from their bats.

The home half of the first ended when the visitors executed a second (Donovan Oberlies)-to-shortstop (Putney)-to-first (Clayton Washington) double play. 

The second included two strikeouts and a fielder’s choice.

The third began with back-to-back K’s.

Their prospects, safe to say, weren’t brilliant, even that early in the game.

What they needed was a spark, and they needed it soon.

Who, though, would light it?

Turns out it was Aaron Keeler, a junior who early on this season worked his way into the lineup as a designated hitter and now bats third in the order.

With two outs in the home half of the third, Zach Bulthuis drew a walk, and Evan Eberts followed with a single to right which moved Bilthuis to third.

That’s when Keeler’s double to the warning track in left scored both base runners.

The Indians (5-2-1) never looked back.

“We’ve been really good about staying in the game, even when we’re down,” said Partusch. “The kids are coachable. When they make mistakes, they’re asking questions. They’re receptive to the things we say, so we’re able to make progress through the game, even if we get behind.”

Keeler’s momentum-changer came on a second-pitch change-up.

“It came in low,” Keeler said. “I attacked it and hit the ball hard. Just wanted to put the barrel on it. There was a runner on third, and anything in the outfield would have been a sacrifice fly.”

After the Cavaliers (5-7) shut them down in the fourth, the Indians responded with three more runs in the fifth.

Landon Garland led off with a single to left and advanced to second on Tucker Utley’s sacrifice bunt and moved to third on Bilthuis’s single to right.

Eberts followed with a sharp single up the middle, his third hit of the night, to score Garland and send Bilthuis to third.

Keeler then drilled a single to right to score Bulthuis and record his third run batted in.

“I saw curveball first pitch,” said Keeler. “It was outside. The second pitch, I saw curve ball again. It was in the middle and broke away, so I just jumped on it and hit it to right field.”

Aiden Tuck kept the rally going by drilling a two-strike shot into the hole at shortstop and beating the throw to first as Eberts raced home from third.

“When we got down (on the scoreboard), we got a little bit down with our energy,” Keeler said. “After the bottom of the third, our energy picked up, and we were able to keep our foot on the gas.”

Cam Rybak, a 6-3 senior righthander, pitched 6.2 innings, scattered four hits, struck out four, and walked one. He threw 91 pitches, mostly fastballs, and 61 for strikes.

It wasn’t his best showing, he said, but it was good enough, and it typified the Indians’ mentality of resilience and perseverance when challenges arise.

“My body didn’t feel that great, and I really didn’t have all my pitches together,” he said. “It all worked out because my infield and outfield were playing very well.

“When I get out there, my head is locked in. Even though my body wasn’t feeling good, my head will always be in the right space.”

With two outs in the Clover Hill half of the seventh, James Nigriny stroked a single. Then, Eli Turek and Owen Tingen walked to load the bases.

Garland, who had entered in relief, then down the Cavaliers’ rally.

“We’re playing really good baseball,” said Partusch. “We have four sophomores starting in the infield. What they’re doing right now is really remarkable.

“My expectation at the beginning of the season was that we would play well and win games, but I really thought we’d take some more lumps, and it would take a little more time for them to mature, but they’ve been, right out of the gates, very focused. We’re very fortunate to have good kids.”