Hosting the state tournament in Powell came with an additional surprise to manager Jason Borders, who was named to the Wyoming Legion Baseball Hall of Fame during the opening ceremonies July 27.

“I had no idea whatsoever,” Borders said. “I was just wanting to get that game going, I was pretty uptight. First game under the lights and the crowd was big … It’s a huge honor, the last thing on my mind.”

It’s been a long time coming for Borders, who originally had no plan of coaching baseball until he was talked into it in the late 90s, beginning as an assistant for the Pioneers in his first year.

“I was born and raised in Powell and have been going to Pioneer games since I was little,” Borders said.

His assistant job was short lived, as he took over the program as the head coach after one year, but was not rehired after his first season.

“I had never planned on coaching, I got talked into giving it a go. I didn’t know anything about coaching,” Borders said.

In the early 2000s he drove up to Billings to coach his son for a few years before he brought his son back to Powell. Then he and current Lovell manager Michael (Munch) Jameson were hired late in the 2009 season.

Borders and Munch led the Pioneers to state titles in 2009 and 2010, and Borders remained the manager of Powell until 2015 when he moved to coach alongside Jameson in Lovell.

He remained there until he was rehired by the Pioneers prior to the 2022 season.

In his three years since returning to the Pioneers, the team boasts a 129-60-1 record, and has won two straight state championships.

Over the years Borders said he has learned how to adapt as kids have changed, knowing that you can’t push some kids as hard as when he first started coaching.

“You learn you can’t coach kids the same way you did,” Borders said. “I’ve had to change my style over the years, which I’m sure all coaches have. Kids have changed, I’ve learned how to change.”

While he has had to adapt a different style of coaching, he has found the right way to challenge kids to get the best out of them.

“Every team is different, you have to figure that out,” Borders said. “What buttons to push and when to push them.”

On the night he was inducted into the hall of fame he was met with a bit of a surprise as more of his family had been at the field than expected, leading to a special induction in front of a packed Ed Lynn Memorial Field.

“I didn’t even know they were going to be there. I still didn’t have a clue as to why they were there,” Borders said.

He said having that family support was important that night and over the years.

“I’ve been on that field and at that complex a lot,” Borders said. “We’ve all lived here our whole lives basically … I had a lot of support from my family.”