A seventh inning rally followed by a Dalton Worstell RBI single in the bottom of the 10th salvaged a conference opening split as the Powell Pioneers defeated Cody 4-3 and lost 7-4 Tuesday night in Powell.

POWELL 4, CODY 3 (F/10)

Returning home Tuesday night the Pioneers (26-11 overall, 1-1 ‘A’ Northwest) opened up conference play against the Cubs (17-14-1 overall, 4-2 ‘A’ Northwest) at home.

The visitors jumped on top early, after a walk and hit batter put two on with no outs and a single scored a run to make it 1-0.

Three straight strikeouts got Powell out of the early jam, and the Pioneers had a quick response.

Consecutive walks to Powell’s first three batters loaded the bases, and a fielder’s choice scored a run to make it 1-1.

Powell didn’t do any more damage, as the game was tied 1-1 after the first.

The next scoring threat came for the Cubs in the top of the third, loading the bases with one out, but Powell came out unscathed.

The Cubs took the lead in the top of the fifth, when a single, walk and hit batter loaded the bases with one out.

A two out single scored two runners, and Powell trailed 3-1.

The Pioneers didn’t record a hit until the late rally started in the bottom of the seventh.

Ethan Welch started the rally with a single on the final pitch of Trey Schroeder’s outing.

“That (hit) really got us going,” manager Jason Borders said.

An error helped Cole Fauskee reach, before Dalton Worstell singled to load the bases with no outs.

Jacob Gibson singled to score Welch, before Ben Ostermiller hit into a double play, and Brock Johnson was intentionally walked to reload the bases with two outs.

A wild pitch during Jordan Loera’s at bat scored Worstell, but a strikeout ended the inning and sent the game to extras.

Both teams put runners on base, but never threatened to score until the 10th.

A walk and a stolen base got a Cody runner to second base, and a single advanced him to third.

Johnson, at shortstop, then fielded a grounder and threw home, with Fauskee tagging out the lead runner and saving a run for the Pioneers.

Powell got out of the inning, which set up the finish in the bottom of the 10th.

Cade Queen walked to lead off, but was out on a fielder’s choice that put Trey Stenerson on.

Stenerson stole second and Welch walked to join him.

Fauskee popped up in foul territory, but Stenerson advanced on a tag up to get into scoring position with two outs.

Worstell stepped up and hit an 0-1 pitch just over the second baseman to score Stenerson and give Powell the 4-3 win.

“Pretty big at bats at the bottom of the order,” Borders said. “We just hung around until we got our chance.”

Both teams recorded six hits, while Cody committed more errors 2-1.

Ostermiller got the win in relief of Queen, giving up two hits in 4 1/3 innings in his first ‘A’ pitching action. Queen had 13 strikeouts in the start.

“He (Queen) kept us in it as long as he could,” Borders said. “He (Ostermiller) threw great … A huge win for him.”

Stenerson, Worstell and Gibson had RBIs for the Pioneers.

CODY 7, POWELL 4

After the dramatic win and a more than three hour game, the two teams regrouped before the second half of the doubleheader.

Three errors and a hit batter in the first four batters spoiled any momentum the Pioneers had from the previous game, as Cody jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first.

“We gave them seven outs in the first inning,” Borders said. “The only thing we had going for us is that it was early.”

Powell got runners on early, but could not find any scoring before Cody extended its lead in the top of the third.

Another error and a single put two on for Cody, before strong baserunning and a single scored both runners and made it 5-0 for the visitors.

Cody got another in the top of the fourth, when a double followed by an error scored a run and made it 6-0.

Powell found a way to load the bases in the bottom of the fourth with one out but was unable to score.

A double and a stolen base put a runner on third in the top of the sixth, before a wild pitch scored another and made it 7-0.

A Stenerson walk and an error on Ostermiller’s hit put two on with one out in the bottom of the sixth, with both runners advancing on a ground out.

A wild pitch scored Stenerson, and got Powell on the board down 7-1 after six.

That run sparked another small rally for the Pioneers, loading the bases through a single and two walks with one out in the bottom of the seventh.

Stenerson hit a double to score Johnson and Trevion Solberg, before a Welch walk reloaded the bases.

An error on Ostermiller’s hit scored a run, but two straight strikeouts ended the Pioneers’ hopes in a 7-4 loss.

“That ending woke us up a little bit,” Borders said. “We had a good meeting after that game. The boys talked a lot and realized what they have to do to prepare for those games a little better.”

Cody outhit Powell 7-6, while the Pioneers committed more errors 6-3.

Stenerson had two RBIs and Ostermiller had the other RBI for the Pioneers.

LOVELL FRIDAY

Powell now heads out on the road for a pair of conference games Friday, heading to Cowley at 5 and 7 p.m. to take on Lovell.

Borders is hopeful that the Pioneers are better prepared this time to take on the Mustangs (10-16-2 overall, 3-1 ‘A’ Northwest).

“I hope that when we go to Lovell we are a little more prepared,” Borders said. “We know there’s a little more at stake. We’ve got to take two from Lovell and two from Riverton (next week) to get to where we want to be at the top of the conference standings.”