Back on the diamond after a short break the Powell Pioneers dropped a pair of contests to visiting Gallatin Valley on Sunday, losing 14-4 and 12-3.

GALLATIN VALLEY 14, POWELL 4

Getting back to action after two weeks away from the diamond the Pioneers (1-6) welcomed in the Outlaws (7-7) once again.

The visitors struck first, as a two out single put a runner on and a wild pitch advanced that runner to second base.

A single brought him home, and Gallatin Valley led 1-0 after the first.

Two walks started the second inning, before a triple scored both and made it 3-0.

Another walk was followed by a strikeout, and a fourth walk in the inning loaded the bases with one out.

“It all starts with our pitching right now. We are struggling to throw strikes,” manager Jason Borders said. “Way too many walks and full counts. I feel like our defense is falling asleep at times so when a ball is hit at us we aren’t ready. I thought pitching would be our strength, but it’s our weakness.”

A sac fly scored one, before a single scored another and made it 5-0.

The Outlaws again added to their lead in the third, as an error and walk put two on, and a hit batter with two outs loaded the bases.

A single scored two runs, and Powell found itself in a 7-0 hole.

Powell responded, as Abel Teten reached on a two-out single, and a Talon Nuss triple scored him and made it 7-1.

Gallatin Valley responded with a leadoff single.

A second base steal, followed by a passed ball put that runner on third, and a sac fly scored him to make it 8-1.

The visitors added another in the top of the fifth, when a leadoff walk put a runner on, and he eventually stole second with two outs.

The runner then stole third before a single drove him home and made it 9-1.

Powell had a small spark in the bottom half of the inning, as Carter Fauskee singled and August Teten doubled to put two runners in scoring position with no outs.

A single scored both runners, and Powell trailed 9-3.

Gallatin Valley pushed its lead back out, as two walks with one out put runners on.

A wild pitch advanced them, and a sac fly scored one to make it 10-3.

Two walks, a hit batter and two singles scored two more for Gallatin Valley in the seventh, and made it 14-3.

Powell got one last run as Fauskee doubled, and eventually scored on an error on Nuss’s hit to make the final score 14-4.

Abel Teten, Nuss and Fauskee all recorded two hits, while Teten had two RBIs and Nuss had one.

Powell walked 11 batters while Gallatin Valley walked none.

GALLATIN VALLEY 12, POWELL 3

The visitors dominated again in the second matchup, as a batter was walked and a sac bunt moved him to third.

He stole third, and an error on the play allowed the runner to score and made it 1-0.

Powell answered in the third, as Dominik Bieber reached second base on an error by the shortstop.

August Teten was hit by a pitch, before a Dakota Erickson single scored Bieber and made it 1-1.

Leading off with a walk in the third got a runner on for the Outlaws, and a steal of second coupled with a wild pitch got him to third.

A sac fly scored the runner and made it 2-1.

That score remained until the top of the fifth, when a single got a runner on, before a triple scored him and made it 3-1.

A passed ball scored that runner, before two walks and an error loaded the bases with one out.

A sac fly scored him, and made it 5-1 after the fifth.

Gallatin Valley added to its advantage in the sixth, as a walk and a triple scored a run right away.

A single scored that runner, and two straight hit batters put runners on to load the bases.

Gallatin Valley hit a sac fly to score one, and a walk after another fly out reloaded the bases with two outs.

Walking another batter scored one, and a double cleared the bases to make it 12-1.

“It started the first weekend in Casper and followed us throughout … For some reason we have those big innings where we walk a couple then a hit scores two,” Borders said. “I keep telling them earned runs aren’t that bad.”

Powell avoided the 10 run rule with an error to lead off on Caden Diaz contact.

A Kolby Gates single advanced him to third, and a single by Fauskee scored Diaz to make it 12-2.

Erickson’s single scored Gates and made it 12-3 after the sixth.

Powell got two runners on in the seventh but couldn’t find enough offense in the 12-3 loss.

“We should be in them all, not getting beat like we are,” Borders said. “The schedule hasn’t helped us either. We can’t get in a groove. We play two games then we have a week off. Then we come back and start over again, badly. I wanna get right back out there as fast as I can to fix what’s going wrong for us.”

Gates, Fauskee and Erickson recorded two hits each, Erickson led with two RBIs and Fauskee added the other.

Powell again walked nine batters compared to none for Gallatin Valley.

CLOSE COMPETITION

The Pioneers stay close to home before heading into another small break, making the trek to Cowley on Saturday afternoon to take on the Lovell Mustangs (0-2).

“They’re well coached, the defending state champs. Young, lost a lot of talent from the seniors last year,” Borders said. “The guys they are bringing back are quality. They should be a good test for us.”

He said the Pioneers are expecting super senior Jordan Loera to return to the team this weekend, with Borders hoping he will provide a boost to help the team earn some wins before another break until the end of the month.

“He will be a difference maker in the lineup,” Borders said. “We’re struggling so any time we can get a win right now is big for us. Just gotta go play clean baseball. We’re fighting our heads a lot right now … We don’t want to drop two to them. We’ve gotta stack wins into this little break with graduation.”