A weekend with mixed results will send the Powell Pioneers into a small break with graduation this weekend. The Pioneers defeated Laurel 10-0 and 6-5 on Saturday, before an error-filled day with limited offense sunk the hosts 9-0 and 12-4 on Sunday.

POWELL 10, LAUREL 0

Returning home and looking to carry momentum from the weekend prior, the Pioneers (11-5) came out to shut down the Dodgers (1-7).

Laurel got a single on the first batter, but that was the visitors only hit of the game.

Powell loaded the bases in the bottom half of the first, after Brock Johnson and Jhett Schwahn were walked and Cade Queen added a single.

The Pioneers were unable to find a run, as it took until the bottom of the third for Powell to get on the board.

After a ground out, Queen was walked, Trey Stenerson hit a single and Dalton Worstell was walked to load the bases.

Jacob Gibson was walked to score one and Aiden Greenwald singled to score another and make it 2-0.

Unfortunately two straight outs stopped the scoring threat, but Powell didn’t wait long to add to the lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Johnson walked to lead off, followed by a Schwahn walk and a Queen single to load the bases.

Johnson scored during Stenerson’s at bat and before Stenerson singled and scored Schwahn to make it 4-0.

Worstell hit a double, scoring a pair and extending it to 6-0 before the first out.

Greenwald walked to get on base, before the pair stole to advance and Worstell stole home to make it 7-0.

In the bottom of the fifth Johnson led off with a double and scored on a Schwahn single to make it 8-0.

Schwahn stole second and advanced to third after tagging up on a Queen fly out.

Stenerson hit a double and scored Schwahn, but Powell was unable to end the game in the fifth.

Talon Nuss and Jordan Loera walked to lead off the sixth and Johnson hit a single to load the bases.

Stenerson eventually walked with two outs to bring home another run and the Pioneers finished the game 10-0.

Johnson had a dominant day on the mound, facing 19 batters and recording 15 strikeouts, giving up one hit while not walking a single batter.

“He threw a great game which he always seems to do against Laurel,” manager Jason Borders said.

Stenerson went 3-4 at the plate with three RBIs, while Worstell recorded two RBIs.

POWELL 6, LAUREL 5

In the second contest, a back-and-forth battle came down to the wire with Queen on the mound.

Laurel got on the board first, after a triple helped get a runner on base and a ground out scored the runner and made it 1-0 in the top of the second.

Gibson singled to lead off the second, stealing second and advancing to third on a ground out.

He eventually stole home after a dropped third strike was thrown to first, tying the contest 1-1.

A single, hit batter and another single loaded the bases with one out for the Dodgers in the top of the third, and a groundout scored one to give Laurel the lead again at 2-1.

Powell found its way back in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases after Johnson doubled, Schwahn was hit by a pitch and Queen was walked.

Stenerson singled to score a pair, making it 3-2.

Queen eventually stole third before Gibson hit a sac fly to score him and make it 4-2.

Laurel chipped away at the lead, scoring one in the top of the fifth before regaining it in the top of the sixth at 5-4.

Powell didn’t wait until the end to regain the lead, as Nuss walked to lead off, Johnson reached on an error and Schwahn walked to load the bases.

Queen hit a sac fly to right field, and the Pioneers were able to have two score after tags amidst confusion and make it 6-5 after six.

Queen only allowed one base runner in the top of the seventh on the mound, finishing the complete game win 6-5.

“They [Laurel] were a little different from the team we saw the weekend before,” Borders said. “They got all their guys back this [past] weekend.”

Queen finished with seven strikeouts, one walk and three earned runs.

Stenerson went 1-4 with two RBIs while Queen had two RBIs.

GALLATIN VALLEY 9, POWELL 0

Carrying a six game win streak into Sunday, the Pioneers attempted to build into an eight game winning streak before heading into a mini two-week break.

Unfortunately, the Outlaws (7-4) came to spoil the Pioneers’ day.

A hit in the bottom of the first from Johnson proved to be the only action of the first game for the Pioneers, who struggled to find base runners throughout.

Errors piled up throughout the day for Powell, with two in the top of the second helping contribute to three runs for Gallatin Valley and make it 3-0.

In the top of the fourth a hit batter, along with three hits and a sac fly extended the lead, making it 6-0.

The bases were loaded once again in the top of the sixth after an error, single and walk, and a lineout leading into an error ended up scoring two for the visitors and made it 8-0.

One more run came in the top of the seventh, as the Pioneers win streak was snapped with a 9-0 loss.

“Not a lot to hang your hat on as far as offense goes, and we didn’t play real great defense,” Borders said. “We saw some pretty good pitching from them on Sunday compared to what we saw up there (in Montana).”

Six errors were charged to the Pioneers as opposed to one for the Outlaws.

GALLATIN VALLEY 12, POWELL 4

The visitors came out fast again in the second game, when two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases in the second with no outs with Greenwald on the mound.

A wild pitch scored one before a single scored two more and made it 3-0 early.

Powell loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half of the inning but was unable to capitalize.

Gallatin Valley added two more in the top of the fourth, and four more in the top of the fifth to make it 9-0.

Two more came in the top of the sixth, but Powell was able to score late and stay alive.

Queen led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run and made it 11-1.

Stenerson followed with a walk and Worstell got on via a single.

Both advanced on a wild pitch, and eventually scored on an error on a Greenwald hit that cut the lead down to 11-3.

Loera hit a double with two outs to score Greenwald, making it 11-4.

Powell was unable to find any more runs, and Gallatin Valley added one more in the top of the seventh to make the final 12-4.

Queen, Greenwald and Loera each had an RBI. The Outlaws outhit the Pioneers 12-5.

SMALL BREAK

With a senior heavy team the Pioneers will be taking a weekend off from action due to graduation, having played 16 games over the first month of the season.

“We hopefully can get healthy over this little break and come back ready to play in Gillette,” Borders said.

Powell will return to action starting on May 24, heading to Gillette over Memorial Day weekend to take part in the Kirby Drube Memorial ‘AA’ Tournament.