It has been two weeks since the end of the Powell Juniors Little League regular season, but a group of 14 players, guided by three coaches, have been keeping busy in preparation for the Wyoming State Juniors Tournament in Cowley.

“It’s been two weeks of practice so the kids are anxious to get back to competition,” Manager Matthew Lengfelder said. “They are a good group that is very coachable and they are working hard.”

It is a group that is both familiar with each other, as well as experienced on this competitive level.

“We are all pretty used to each other and get along well, though we do annoy each other at times,” Colin Queen, one of a trio of team captains, said with a laugh. “We’ve played together in these tournaments at other levels and have had our ups and downs. But I think we’ve got a good combination of good pitching and hitting this year.”

Another captain, Jesse Brown, has experience with this group and on this stage, and is confident the team can take the next step.

“We took second in the state tournament last year, so we were close,” Brown said. “We just need to make sure to keep our errors down, because those will add up and hurt you in a game. If we can keep those down, we’ll be all right.”

Looking at the team in a little more detail, the third captain, Garrett Stutzman, sees the positive mix of both the 13- and 14-year-olds who make up the roster.

“Our infield is all 14-year-olds, and so are our catcher and pitchers, so it’s good to have that experience at those positions,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in our outfield, and offensively we have some heavy hitters, for sure.”

The schedule for the Powell All-Stars started Wednesday, with a late afternoon game against the one team that isn’t quite so familiar to them, Green River.

“We know the teams from Lovell and Cody real well, but Green River not so much,” Queen said. “We’re not real sure what to expect from them, so we’ll just see what happens.”

Stutzman has a little more familiarity with the Green River team.

“We did play them once last year and I remember they were pretty good,” he said. “They’ve got some strong hitters, but just a few, so we just have to hold them down.”

Lengfelder also sees the strengths in the mix of players, both in ability and mentality.

“The older kids have the experience and are doing a good job of really leading by example for the younger kids,” he said. “And our 13-year-olds are also really good athletes, and the one thing all of these kids are is real competitive. Day to day, kids of this age, you don’t know what you’ll get. But once they cross the lines and step onto the field, they are always ready to play.”

With either a win or loss in Wednesday’s game that was held after deadline for today’s edition, Powell will continue either in the championship or consolation bracket today (Thursday).

If the team wins, it will play at 7 p.m. against the winner of the Cody vs. Lovell contest, while a loss will have Powell playing at 4 p.m. against the losing team from the Cody vs. Lovell game.