Ugly loss leads to dramatic win

Posted 6/25/15

A 25-1 thrashing at the hands of the visiting Cubs set the stage for Powell’s improbable and stunning 4-3 come-from-behind walk-off win at Ed Lynn Memorial Field in Powell.

“It hasn’t really set in yet,” Powell head coach Jason Borders …

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Ugly loss leads to dramatic win

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Pioneers’ up-and-down season continues with ‘roller coaster’ Tuesday doubleheader

If the Powell Pioneers’ first game against the Cody Cubs on Tuesday was an ugly duckling, the back end of the doubleheader was a beautiful swan.

A 25-1 thrashing at the hands of the visiting Cubs set the stage for Powell’s improbable and stunning 4-3 come-from-behind walk-off win at Ed Lynn Memorial Field in Powell.

“It hasn’t really set in yet,” Powell head coach Jason Borders said of the win Wednesday morning. “We came close once or twice to beating Cody last year, but they swept us all last year.

“Our guys could’ve quit, they could’ve laid down and said ‘Cody’s better than us, and that’s that.’ But they didn’t.”

The twin bill was part of a stretch of nine games in eight days that ended with a nine-inning battle against Riverton on Wednesday in Powell. The score of that game was not available by press time. Powell hosted the Ed Lynn Memorial Wood Bat Tournament Friday through Sunday, going 2-2 and taking fifth out of six teams. Tuesday’s action was the Pioneers’ first encounter with Cody’s “varsity” squad this season. On June 17, Powell also played Laurel (Montana) in a road doubleheader, dropping both contests.

Powell (12-21, 4-2 Northwest) will take today (Thursday) off before traveling to Cody for the Cody Wood Bat Tourney. The Pioneers begin play with a 5 p.m. matchup with Grand Junction (Colorado) on Friday (see the local sports schedule below for all Pioneer tourney game times).

Powell 4, Cody 3

Understandably, the Pioneers’ heads hung low following the first game of the doubleheader, but that changed quickly in game two.

With Cory Heny dealing on the mound, Powell took a lead in the second inning when Kaden Moore scored on an error. Cody tied it at one in the fourth, but Powell responded with a Moore RBI single that scored Zavier Wantulok.

Errors nearly spelled the end for Powell in the sixth after Cody took the lead with two runs on a single and double. Back-to-back miscues by shortstop Carson Asher loaded the bases with Cubs, but Heny escaped the jam and limited the damage by inducing a harmless groundball to first baseman Bryce Wright.

“I’ve been a part of it all summer with these guys,” Borders said of the tense sixth inning. “That’s just how we do it.”

The dramatics then began in the bottom of the seventh.

Trey Ouellette led off the inning with a single, but was out at second on Toby Stowe’s fielder’s choice. Ezra Andreasen then pushed Stowe to second with a sacrifice bunt and Heny followed with a single that moved him to third. Asher then singled to tie the game, and Grady Sanders grounded a single through the gap between third and short to bring in Heny with the winning run.

“For them to gut it out and take the lead and win the ballgame in the seventh ... you would’ve thought we won the state championship,” Borders said of the postgame celebration. “It’s a freaking roller coaster right now. I don’t know how to get off. I don’t know how to stop it — but wow.”

The turn of events led to what may have been Powell’s biggest win of the season thus far, and supported Borders’ belief that his team is improving, whether its record shows it or not.

“We’re turning the corner, it’s just a big, long corner. It’s not a sharp corner. It’s a big, swopping, quarter-mile turn,” Borders joked. “But we’re getting there. I can see it.”

Heny went the distance for the Pioneers on the mound, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He also paced his team with two hits.

Cody 25, Powell 1

To get to the big finish, Powell had to endure its worst loss of the season.

A 5-1 deficit turned into 11-1 after two innings, and a 14-run fourth inning from Cody added insult to injury. The Cubs totaled 22 hits to the Pioneers’ two.

Cody ace John Beaudrie did Powell no favors, striking out 11 with three walks in his complete-game effort. Asher took the loss for Powell, giving up 10 runs on 10 hits with two walks.

Powell 7, Lovell 6

Powell finished the wood bat tournament with a late, come-from-behind win over the Mustangs to take fifth place on Sunday.

Behind 6-4 in the sixth frame, the Pioneers scored three runs on hits from Wantulok, Ouellette and a sacrifice fly from Asher to take the lead.

Powell totaled 10 hits, led by two each from Heny, Tyler Feller and Ouellette. Wantulok and Heny drove in two runs apiece. Feller earned the win on the mound, going seven innings and allowing one earned run on five hits with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Borders was happy with the win considering his team only had nine players for the tournament closer.

“They just sucked it up. I was as proud of those nine guys as I was with anybody all tournament,” Borders said. “I know they’re capable; I know they can be a good baseball team. They showed it this weekend.”

Billings Halos 6, Powell 5

The Pioneers had the eventual tournament champions on the ropes in the bottom of the seventh inning, but errors again hosed Powell on Saturday.

A tie game in the sixth inning turned into a 5-3 Pioneers lead when Teagan Cordes singled in Moore. A passed ball during Powell’s next at-bat pushed Cordes across the plate. But in the last half inning of the game, Asher was unable to finish a strong pitching performance as Billings tallied three runs on just one hit.

“Billings Halos won the tournament. We could’ve put ourselves right there,” Borders said. “That’s one of the hardest losses I’ve ever taken as a coach. But just for some reason, the way it ended just hurt.”

Powell racked up 11 hits, including three from Asher, who also drove in and scored a run. Heny and Moore added two hits apiece.

Asher went 6 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (one earned) with three walks and a strikeout.

Billings Angels 10, Powell 2

A competitive game turned into a mess for Powell after its struggles with defensive miscues returned midway through their second tournament game Friday.

With the score tied 2-2 in the fourth, two errors helped the Angels plate three runs on their way to totaling eight over the final four frames. Heny was handed the loss despite allowing just four earned runs (10 total) in six innings of work. He walked two and struck out five.

Asher had two of Powell’s seven hits, and Andreasen drove in two runs.

“We came out flat in the game against the Angels and it showed,” Borders said and added about the errors: “I’ve said it all along. I don’t know how to shut that down. We’ll play a game with three or four great innings, and then the errors start piling up, and all of a sudden we’re getting beat by eight. We’ve got to find a way not to let the errors lead to another and another.”

Borders also expressed sympathy for Heny, who has been hampered by fielding errors in several of his starts this season.

“He doesn’t deserve this,” Borders said. “I tell the guys, ‘You expect everyone to make plays when you’re on the mound, so make some for him.’”

Powell 10, Lovell 0 (4 inn.)

Powell bounced back from the tough doubleheader in Laurel with a sound effort against Lovell in the Ed Lynn Memorial Wood Bat Tournament opener, also on Friday.

A dazzling effort on the mound from Matt Brown kept the Mustangs at bay as the Pioneers exploded for six runs in the third inning. Powell totaled nine hits and stayed patient at the plate, drawing five walks. Sanders and Teagan Cordes had two hits each, and Andreasen, Heny, Sanders and Cordes all scored two runs. Asher had two RBIs, while Stowe, Sanders, Cordes and Feller also drove in runs.

Brown pitched all four innings, giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out five. Brown also drove in three runs, including two on a pair of perfectly-placed bunts. He survived a scary moment on his second bunt when the pitched ball struck his right index finger, resulting in a nasty blister and some swelling. The left-hander was able to finish the game and the tournament.

Brown was happy after the performance, one in which he was given a rare big lead.

“I try to pitch the same no matter what’s going on,” Brown said. “When (the offense) is hitting the ball, it’s just nice to go out there and have some fun.”

Brown’s outing moved him to 4-3 this summer with a sparking 1.49 earned run average — best among all Powell pitchers.

“The kid is a gamer,” Borders said. “It’s his last year and he’s just leaving it all out on the field.”

Laurel 15, Pioneers 14

The Pioneers took advantage of five Laurel errors, scoring 14 runs on just six hits. But eight errors of its own kept Powell from stealing game two on June 17.

Stowe walked three times and scored a robust five runs. Heny led Powell with three hits, including a home run, and five runs batted in and also scored three times. Sanders had a hit and three RBIs and Brown also drove in three. Andreasen (three runs scored), Ty Dearcorn and Ouellette also plated runs. Powell led 3-0, 6-3 and 8-4 through the first three innings.

Laurel 15, Powell 1 (5 inn.)

Powell managed just two hits and committed five errors in game one of the doubleheader as Laurel poured in seven third-inning runs before tacking on five more in the fourth to blow out the visiting Pioneers.

Sanders and Feller each had a hit for Powell. Sanders’ hit was an RBI double. Moore went three innings on the mound and was tagged with the loss.

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