Needing a few games to make up for a canceled doubleheader on Thursday, the Powell Legion A baseball team accepted a late invite to the Lions Club Wood Bat Tournament in Cody over the weekend.

The Pioneers finished 0-4 in the tournament, though they continued to improve at the plate, out-hitting two of the four opponents they faced. Play in the field and on the mound continued to be an issue, however, with unearned runs a factor in each game.

“We had a terrible two games on Saturday,” said Powell manager Joe Cates. “We played fairly well against Cody on Sunday, and we had a nice comeback against Laurel on Friday. The score may not reflect it, but we finished the tournament strong.”

The Pioneers are back at home Tuesday (today) for a doubleheader against Riverton. Games are scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Laurel 16, Pioneers 9

The Pioneers’ best showing of the weekend came in Friday’s opener against Laurel. After spotting the Dodgers a 8-0 lead over the first two innings, Powell battled back to make it a game, outscoring Laurel 9-2 over the next three innings. But trailing 10-9 going into the bottom of the fifth, the Pioneers’ hopes were dashed by another big inning by the Dodgers, who held on for the 16-9 win.

“Last week, we talked a lot about effort, and I let the guys know how disappointed I was at their overall effort” Cates said. “I told them we needed to pick it up, and this game they did that.”

In his first start of the season for the Pioneers, Cameron Wentz lasted just 1 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs (four earned) on six hits and walking three. Zane Cordes closed out the second inning in relief, giving up just one hit and no runs.

Just when it seemed the Pioneers might be down for the count trailing 8-0, third baseman Ryley Meyer smacked a bases-loaded, two-out double to score Powell’s first two runs of the game and cut the Dodgers’ lead to 8-2. Laurel answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, pushing its lead back to eight at 10-2.

First baseman Ashton Brewer led off the top of the fourth with a walk, and in a heads-up bit of baserunning, sprinted to first and stole second as the ball-four pitch got by the catcher. The aggressive play energized the Pioneers’ bench and kickstarted a five-run inning.

“There was a lot of effort that came into play in that inning,” Cates said. “Ashton Brewer takes second base on a walk, and that just ignited a spark for us. We kept putting the ball in play and kept running bases. We were playing aggressive.”

Kobe Ostermiller knocked in a run, and Jesse Brown walked with the bases loaded to score Wentz.

Cameron Schmidt scored Ostermiller on a fielder’s choice and Meyer singled in Colin Queen and Brown to make the game 10-7.

After holding the Dodgers scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, Powell plated two more runs in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 10-9. Wentz and Ostermiller got things going with back-to-back two-out singles, setting the stage for Queen. The lefthander hit a groundball to first getting past the defender, scoring Wentz and Ostermiller.

That was as close as the Pioneers would get, as Laurel plated six runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach, winning 16-9. Despite the loss, Cates said he was pleased with what he saw out of his team.

“The guys were able to keep up their energy and play 100 percent and not give in,” he said. “They battled back and did great. We had a couple of lapses in that fifth inning where we threw a couple of balls away. But they did it being aggressive. I was happy that every mistake they made that game was with 100 percent effort, not because they were [playing lazy].”

The Pioneers pounded out seven hits, with Queen, Meyer and Wentz recording two hits each. Meyer finished with four RBIs, Queen knocked in two and Ostermiller, Brown and Schmidt each had one.

Wentz was saddled with the loss, and four Pioneers threw at least part of an inning in relief. Landon Sessions gave up two runs on one hit in an inning of work, while Garrett Stutzman gave up four runs (zero earned) on two hits in 1 1/3 innings. Ostermiller made his second appearance on the mound this season, giving up two runs on two hits in 1 1/2 innings.

Gallatin Valley 12, Pioneers 2

In the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, the Pioneers outhit Gallatin Valley nine to eight, but came out on the losing end of a 12-2 score.

Both Pioneer runs were plated in the top of the fifth inning. Ryley Meyer continued to get it done at the plate, singling in Colin Queen for Powell’s first run of the game. Ashton Brewer also had an RBI single in the inning, scoring Jesse Brown for the Pioneers’ final tally of the contest.

Brown got the start on the bump for the Pioneers, giving up nine runs (six earned) on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings of work. Noah Blough pitched the final two innings in relief, giving up three runs (two earned) on one hit.

Kobe Ostermiller, Queen and Zane Cordes had multiple hits in the contest, recording two apiece. Meyer, Brewer and Blough each had a hit, with Meyer and Brewer driving in a run.

Douglas 19, Pioneers 4

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Pioneers trailed Douglas 2-1 after three innings and were poised to make it a game. But the Curse of the Big Inning struck twice, with Douglas plating seven runs in the fourth and nine in the sixth to cruise to a 19-4 win.

Powell again had a decent game at the plate, outhitting Douglas 8-7. But 11 unearned runs proved to be the team’s downfall, as the Pioneers committed nine errors in the field.

Kobe Ostermiller had the hot bat for the Pioneers, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Colin Queen, Ryley Meyer and Garrett Stutzman each had a hit and an RBI, while Jesse Brown, Ashton Brewer and Noah Blough finished with a hit apiece.

Meyer got the start and pitched well, giving up just two runs on one hit and striking out two. Stutzman, Brewer and Ostermiller pitched in relief, giving up a combined 17 runs (eight earned) on six hits; Ostermiller recorded three strikeouts, Stutzman two and Brewer one.

Cody 12, Powell 2

In Sunday’s finale against the Cody Cubs, the Pioneers once again appeared to be knocking on the door, trailing the host team 3-2 after four innings. But an eight-run fifth inning by the Cubs derailed any hopes the Pioneers had of an upset, going on to win 12-2.

After spotting the Cubs a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second, Powell plated a run in the third and one in the fourth to pull back into the contest. A Kobe Ostermiller RBI single in the third and a Landon Sessions run in the fourth accounted for the Pioneers’ scoring.

The Pioneers had just three hits in the contest, one apiece from Ostermiller, Ashton Brewer and Noah Blough. Ostermiller had Powell’s only RBI.

Starting pitcher Colin Queen was kept on a limited pitch count so that he’d be available for Tuesday’s games against Riverton. The lefty pitched just 1 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on no hits and striking out four. Zane Cordes pitched three innings in relief, giving up eight runs on 10 hits, all earned, and striking out one. Cameron Schmidt gave up one run on one hit in a single inning of work.