Two difficult innings proved to be the difference between the Powell Pioneers and Lovell Mustangs on Friday night in Cowley, as the Mustangs used strong pushes in each game to claim victories 4-3 and 10-8.

LOVELL 4, POWELL 3

Heading into the middle of its six game conference swing, the Pioneers (26-13 overall, 1-3 ‘A’ Northwest) were looking to make a move towards the top of the ‘A’ Northwest against the Mustangs (12-16-2 overall, 5-1 ‘A’ Northwest).

Both teams got baserunners in the first inning, but neither found a run before Powell took the lead in the top of the second.

Cole Fauskee walked with one out, but was out advancing to second while Dalton Worstell got on through the fielder’s choice.

Worstell then stole second, before Jacob Gibson hit a single to score him and make it 1-0.

Powell expanded its lead in the top of the third, starting with Jordan Loera reaching on a dropped third strike.

He scored after a single to left field by Cade Queen got by the fielder, leading to extra bases on the error allowing for Loera to score and Queen to advance to second.

An error on Trey Stenerson’s hit brought in Queen, and Powell led 3-0.

Lovell found its offense in the bottom of the third, after a leadoff double got a runner on and a single followed to score the run.

The Mustangs got another, after the runner stole second and then a single scored him to cut the lead to 3-2.

A walk put a second runner on, before a passed ball advanced the runners to second and third.

Finally, a double scored both runs, before Powell got out of the inning without any further damage trailing 4-3.

“We were kind of reverting back to last year where we gave up those big innings,” manager Jason Borders said. “We’d make a good pitch and they’d get a bat on it … Dalton [Worstell] made some really good pitches, they fought him off and then hit it past our infield.”

Powell got two baserunners on in the fifth, and loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth, but couldn’t find the equalizing or leading run as the Mustangs held on for the 4-3 win.

Gibson threw two scoreless innings in his first innings since April 14, while having the only RBI in the game for the Pioneers.

“We were going to throw him for a couple innings and see how he responded,” Borders said. “I talked to him on Saturday and he was good. Hopefully we can just keep expanding on that.”

Lovell outhit Powell 12-7 while also committing more errors 3-0.

LOVELL 10, POWELL 8

A renewed energy early in game two helped Powell jump out to an early lead, but one strong inning from the Mustangs proved to be the difference once again.

Powell got on the board in the top of the second, when Worstell got a one out double, and advanced on an Ethan Welch single to put runners on the corners.

A passed ball scored Worstell and advanced Welch, before Trevion Solberg brought in Welch on a single to make it 2-0.

Powell loaded the bases with two outs after a Brock Johnson walk and Loera was hit by a pitch, but were unable to score again.

Stenerson led off with a single in the third, and stole second before Fauskee joined him on base after a dropped third strike.

Fauskee stole second, before Welch scored on a fly out to make it 3-0.

Gibson singled and scored Fauskee from second, as Powell led 4-0 after the third.

Two walks and a single scored a run on the bottom of the fourth for Lovell, and another walk loaded the bases with no outs.

A single scored a run to make it 4-2 but a throw home from Solberg in right field prevented another from scoring.

Two more singles scored two more runs, and another loaded the bases with one out.

Following the series of singles, a bases clearing double scored three and Powell fell behind 7-4.

Lovell expanded its lead in the fifth after an error got a runner on second base. A fielder’s choice led to a rundown and got the lead runner out but allowed the batter to advance to second.

A passed ball advanced that runner to third, before a ground out scored the run and made it 8-4.

Powell needed an answer and got it in the top of the sixth, when Johnson, Loera and Queen hit three straight singles, scoring one run in the process.

Stenerson’s single followed to score a run, with a passed ball advancing him and Queen to second and third.

A Fauskee ground out scored a run to make it 8-7, with Stenerson advancing to third.

Welch walked to get on and tried to steal second, allowing Stenerson to steal home, but Welch was called out at second to end the top half of the inning.

“It just seemed like there were some timely calls in that game that cost us,” Borders said.

Lovell answered to reclaim the lead after a hit batter and single put two on, and a ground out advanced the runners.

A sac fly scored one and advanced the second runner, before a single scored another run to make it 10-8 after the sixth.

Gibson walked to lead off the second, and Johnson hit a single that advanced Gibson all the way to third to put two on with one out.

Queen walked with two outs to load the bases before a fielder’s choice on a ground out ended the game as the Mustangs won 10-8.

Powell outhit the Mustangs 12-10 and committed an error while Lovell did not, but Borders said it was strikeouts that plagued the Pioneers.

“They got us on a day where things didn’t go our way,” Borders said. “Twelve hits and 14 strikeouts, that’s ridiculous … They hit the ball well, it was the strikeouts that hurt the most.”

Queen, Stenerson, Fausee, Welch, Gibson and Solberg all recorded an RBI for the Pioneers.

RIVERTON HOME GAMES

Powell will make a short pit stop at home Tuesday (tonight), welcoming in Riverton for a pair of conference games at 5 and 7 p.m.

The Pioneers will attempt to get back on track against the Raiders (19-12-1 overall, 0-4 ‘A’ Northwest) and end the first half of their conference season with a .500 record before getting into a swing of tournament and conference games starting this weekend.

“It was kind of nice to have the weekend off to clear our heads and get ready for the next couple weeks,” Borders said. “Conference games are more important than the tournaments … We can’t take any more losses in conference … It’s important to get wins against Riverton to get back on track.”