It was another weekend of top-notch competition as the Powell Pioneers headed to Billings to take part in the Halos’ Tournament that started Thursday.

The first two contests saw losses to the Sheridan Jets by a 9-3 score Thursday afternoon and an 8-1 downing by the Billings Angels early Friday.

Defensive lapses, in the form of seven Powell errors, helped Sheridan score eight runs in the first two innings. Then against the Angels, despite working eight walks, the offense was held down to the tune of just one hit.

The bats stayed quiet in Friday’s later game, a 1-0 loss to the Billings Cardinals, though the Pioneers’ defense really stepped up.

The Pioneers were outhit 11-1, but starter Ezra Andreason worked around seven hits in 4.1 innings and only walked one batter, allowing just one run to score, with the defense staying solid and turning a double play along the way.

Southpaw Colin Queen came on in relief and scattered four hits in 2.2 innings to keep the Cardinals to just the one run.

The offense just couldn’t get anything going to overcome the one run.

“That was our most complete game, as a team, all year,” Andreason said. “We didn’t quite get the outcome we wanted, but we gave ourselves some good opportunities to win a close ball game.”

Things came together in Powell’s tournament finale, however, as the team doubled up on the Jackson Giants, 8-4.

After Tyler Feller got through a scoreless top of the first, the line-up got things going in the bottom half with three runs.

Andreason and Queen each drew walks to start the frame and Kaden Moore drove Andreason in with a single to right.

Carson Asher then reached, but Queen was thrown out at the plate, though Moore would soon come in on a wild pitch and Zavier Wantulok drove Asher in.

The Pioneers added two more in the second on RBI doubles from both Moore and Asher.

Jackson would scratch for single runs in each of the next four innings, but Powell got one back in the fourth on another run-scoring hit from Moore, two in the fifth as Moore and Asher each drove in a run.

Moore and Asher each went 4-for-4 in the game, with Moore totaling four RBI and Asher two.

“This weekend was the best it’s been for us in a long time,” Moore said. “We switched up positions a little bit, which made it really fun and the best thing for us was to finish on a win.”

The team heads to Cody for a double-header Wednesday with games slated for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. before heading to Riverton for a pair of Saturday contests.

“Going into these last couple of weeks, we need to keep our errors down, keep walks to a minimum and limit our strike outs,” Moore said. “Then we will be right there with teams that have beat us in the past.”