{gallery}07_29_10/pioneers{/gallery} Powell's Jake Beurster delivers a pitch to home plate during district tournament action last week. On Wednesday, it was Pioneer pitcher Scotty Jameson who delivered both on the mound and at the plate in an 8-7 Pioneer victory. Tribune photo by Randal Horobik Powell survives opening-round scare with 8-7 victoryThe defending Class A champion Powell Pioneers were forced to work overtime in Sheridan at the opening round of the 2010 Wyoming State American Legion baseball tournament, but survived to a spot in today's (Thursday) championship semifinals with an 8-7, 10-inning victory over Torrington. Scotty Jameson came through with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to drive across Josh Cragoe, who was hit by a pitch to reach base.

Jameson also picked up the victory on the mound after stepping to defuse a potentially dangerous situation. With only one out and a tie score in the top of the ninth inning, Torrington had runners on first and second. The Pioneers dodged the danger as they were able to cut down the lead runner at third base on an infield grounder, then watched as Jameson closed the inning with a strikeout.

Jameson, who plays for Arkansas State University during the school year, retired Torrington 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th to set the stage for the extra-inning drama.

Garret Czapla and Tyler England were retired to start the 10th inning, making the prospect of still more baseball appear likely.

Cragoe was hit by the first pitch he saw during his at-bat and moved to second on Grant Geiser's single. With Jameson delivering a solid shot to the outfield, there was little doubt about whether the Pioneers would wave Cragoe, one of the team's faster players on the base paths, toward home plate.

For the game, Jameson finished 3-for-6 at the plate with a home run and three RBIs. Gesier was 4-for-6 with an RBI and two doubles in the contest. Colter Bostick also picked up three hits for the Pioneers, who finished with 14 total hits in the game.

Powell was also guilty of stranding 11 baserunners in the contest, however. That fact contributed heavily to the early state tournament drama against Torrington, a team Powell had defeated via the 10-run rule twice during the regular season.

Geiser threw 8.1 innings as Powell's starter on the mound. He allowed 12 hits and seven runs, six of them earned, while striking out eight and walking a pair. Torrington grabbed an early 4-1 lead over Powell, but the Pioneers pulled back to within a run when Jameson delivered a two-run homer to the left-center field power alley with two outs in the third inning.

The Pioneers didn't hold a lead in the game until taking a 6-5 advantage in the fifth as Olie Olson singled home a run and Colt Nix drew a bases-loaded walk. The advantage lasted all of one pitch as Torrington took Geiser's first pitch of the sixth inning over the fence for a solo home run to tie the game.

Geiser scored after reaching base on a one-out double. Bostick connected for one of his three singles with two outs in the frame to put Powell back on top 7-6 . Torrington recorded strikeouts for six of the next nine Pioneer outs, however, to keep the score there until the No. 3 seed from the South could tie the contest in the eighth inning.

In the end, however, the Pioneers survived and advanced. The team will face the winner of Wednesday's Casper-Cheyenne contest at 4 p.m. today (Thursday).