Another tournament in Montana saw the Powell Pioneers finishing strong, with a 3-2 record over four days at the Harold Gjerde Memorial Tournament in Lewistown. Powell defeated Gallatin Valley 4-1 before forfeiting the win due to use of an illegal player, defeated Vauxhall 9-6, lost to Belgrade 4-3, then defeated Lewistown 1-0 and Vauxhall once again 16-6 on Sunday.

Unfortunately for Powell, the Pioneers threw Brock Johnson in relief for one out on too few days rest Thursday, resulting in Powell forfeiting for the game against Gallatin Valley.

“That’s our normal switch,” manager Jason Borders said. “We had two outs and a guy on second. It is what it is, I screwed up, I take full responsibility. I’m the head coach, I should have known better.”

Borders reported it to the state legion, which resulted in him getting a suspension for the game against Vauxhall on Friday.

POWELL 4, GALLATIN VALLEY 1

Heading to Lewistown the Pioneers (25-10) got a look at a familiar opponent this year in the Outlaws (23-13), with both teams sweeping each other earlier in the season.

Early on Powell got the lead, after Cade Queen hit a two out double and was brought in on a Trey Stenerson single to make it 1-0 after the first.

Powell continued to hold the Outlaws at bay, until the Panthers extended the lead in the bottom of the third.

Johnson and Jhett Schwahn singled to lead off, before Schwahn stole second to put two runners in scoring position.

Queen hit a single and brought in a run, before stealing second during the next at bat.

Stenerson hit another single to score Schwahn and advance Queen to third.

After a pop out, Stenerson was picked off at first base, but Queen took advantage and stole home to make it 4-0 after the third.

Queen continued to throw strong on the mound, holding Gallatin Valley off the scoreboard until the sixth.

The Outlaws loaded the bases through two singles and a walk with one out, and scored on a fielder’s choice that got a runner out at second.

Gallatin reloaded the bases with a walk, but had no more offense as Powell saw out the 4-1 win.

Queen finished with nine strikeouts while giving up five hits and walking two on the mound.

“Cade threw well, he just ran out of pitches,” Borders said.

Stenerson led the way, going 2-3 with two RBIs while Queen also went 2-3 with one RBI.

Powell outhit Gallatin Valley 6-5 while neither team committed an error.

POWELL 9, VAUXHALL 6

After the win Thursday the Pioneers matched up with the Spurs (6-5) out of Alberta, Canada, looking for a fifth straight win on Friday morning.

Vauxhall got on the board first, scoring after two singles coupled with an error got runners on, scoring on a ground out to make it 1-0 after the second.

In the third the Spurs extended the lead, after a hit batter stole second and was driven in on a single to make it 2-0.

Powell finally got on the board in the top of the fourth, when Queen hit a two out double to get on before Stenerson brought him in on a triple.

The Pioneers were unable to score Stenerson, and Vauxhall found a way to extend its advantage.

A leadoff single put a runner on, but a fielder’s choice saw him out, while an error on the throw to first for the double play allowed the next batter to advance to second.

That runner advanced on a passed ball to third and scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1.

Powell found its offense in the top of the fifth, as Cole Fauskee reached on an error and Dalton Worstell joined him after being hit by a pitch.

A Trevion Solberg single scored Fauskee and advanced runners to second and third on the throw home to make it 3-2.

Brenton Henke then singled to score both runs, advancing to second on the throw home to give Powell its first lead 4-3.

“What I liked is that we got a little bit out of everybody,” Borders said. “That’s what we need. We can’t count on our top four guys to do all of our production.”

The Pioneers were not done, as Johnson doubled to score Henke, and advanced to third on an error.

He then scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-3, before three straight outs ended the inning.

Powell extended the lead in the sixth, starting with singles by Fauskee and Worstell.

A sac bunt by Solberg advanced the runners, before a Henke single brought in a run.

Johnson then hit a sac fly to score another, and Powell led 8-3.

In the seventh, Queen led off with a double and later stole third.

Ethan Welch hit a sac fly to score him, and Powell led 9-3 heading to the bottom of the seventh.

Vauxhall got three runs in the bottom half, but Powell held off the charge for a 9-6 win.

Henke went 2-3 with three RBIs, Johnson had two RBIs while Stenerson, Welch and Solberg each had an RBI.

Powell outhit Vauxhall 12-7 while the Spurs had four errors compared to three for the Pioneers.

“I thought we played pretty good. We kicked some balls around a little bit,” Borders said.

BELGRADE 4, POWELL 3

After the win the Pioneers turned around to take on the Bandits (7-4) in the second half of a doubleheader on Friday.

Belgrade got on the board first, loading the bases through a hit batter, single and an error.

A single brought in a run, and a fielder’s choice scored another to make it 2-0 after the first.

The Bandits extended the lead in the second, after a single and a sac bunt got a runner on second.

A wild pitch advanced the runner to third before a separate passed ball scored the runner and made it 3-0.

Powell got on the board in the top of the third, starting with a two out single by Johnson.

He advanced to second base after an errant pickoff attempt, scoring on a Jordan Loera single to make it 3-1.

Loera stole second, and was brought in on a Queen single to make it 3-2.

Offense disappeared over the next innings, before Powell found a tying run in the top of the sixth.

Stenerson started things with a two out single, stealing second and advancing to third to get in scoring position.

Welch walked to get on, before Stenerson scored on a wild pitch and Welch advanced to second.

Fauskee walked, but Powell was unable to find a leading run.

A single got a runner on in the bottom of the sixth for the Bandits, who later scored on a two out double to make it 4-3.

Powell was unable to find any threats in the top of the seventh, and Belgrade finished with the 4-3 win.

Queen and Loera each had an RBI for the Pioneers.

Both teams finished with seven hits and an error.

“It was just a good baseball game,” Borders said. “They’re a good team. It just came down to them outscoring us by one.”

POWELL 1, LEWISTOWN 0

After their five game win streak was snapped the Pioneers turned around to take on the hosts late Saturday night after rain delays, battling with the Redbirds (9-26) in a low scoring contest.

Lewistown threatened early in the first, but Johnson got out of a bases-loaded jam to keep it 0-0.

Powell found its lone run in the top of the third, when Worstell was hit by a pitch to lead off and stole second before advancing to third on a sac bunt by Jacob Gibson.

Solberg then hit a sac fly to score Worstell and make it 1-0.

“We just manufactured a run out of nothing and sometimes that’s how you’ve gotta do it,” Borders said.

Neither team threatened over the final four innings, as Johnson and Loera split duties on the mound.

Johnson finished with no hits and nine strikeouts in three innings, while Loera had two strikeouts in four innings, giving up two hits in the save.

Both pitchers combined for two walks, one each.

Fauskee had the only hit for the Pioneers while Solberg had the only RBI.

“Probably one of the only games I’ve ever got one hit and won,” Borders said. “Everything we hit was right at people, we didn’t strike out one time.”

POWELL 16, VAUXHALL 6

After all the pool play games and a rain delayed Saturday, the Pioneers matched up with the Spurs once again due to the matchups provided by the tournament.

Powell got on the board in the bottom of the first, starting with a Johnson single.

He later advanced on a Queen ground out, and then stole third before Stenerson hit a double to make it 1-0.

Welch walked and Fauskee was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Worstell singled to score one and make it 2-0.

Powell added to its advantage in the second, when Solberg and Johnson singled, as both runners advanced further on the throw from Johnson’s hit with no outs.

Queen hit a sac fly to score one, before Stenerson doubled to score another and make it 4-0.

Vauxhall got on the board in the top of the third, scoring two runs on a pair of singles and errors to make it 4-2.

That score stood until the bottom of the fourth, when Powell extended its lead.

Loera and Queen singled before Stenerson walked to load the bases with one out.

A passed ball scored Loera and made it 5-2.

Fauskee tripled to score Queen and Stenerson, before Worstell singled to score Fauskee and make it 8-2.

“We swung it really well on Sunday,” Borders said.

The Spurs battled back, using five hits and a walk along with several sacrifice hits to cut the lead all the way down to 8-6 after the top of the fifth.

Powell responded, after Solberg walked and Johnson singled to advance him to third with no outs.

Johnson stole second which Solberg took advantage of, stealing home to make it 9-6.

Loera singled to score Johnson, making it 10-6.

Queen walked, before Stenerson doubled to score Loera and make it 11-6.

Fauskee grounded out to score Queen, and Worstell hit into an error that allowed Stenerson to score and make it 13-6.

In the bottom of the sixth, Loera led off with a single and stole second.

Stenerson singled, before Welch walked and loaded the bases.

Fauskee singled to score a pair, and Welch advanced to third.

Welch then stole home to make the score 16-6 and finish the game.

Powell racked up 18 hits compared to 10 for Vauxhall, while Powell committed more errors 2-1.

Fauskee went 3-4 at the plate with five RBIs, Stenerson went 4-4 with three RBIs.

Worstell went 2-4 with two RBIs, while Loera went 3-5 with an RBI and Queen had an RBI.

CONFERENCE OPENER

The Pioneers now return home to play in Powell for the first time since June 2, opening up conference play on Tuesday (tonight).

That will come against Park County rival Cody (16-13-1 overall, 3-1 ‘A’ Northwest), as Powell will hope to start strong in the ‘A’ Northwest at 5 and 7 p.m.

“It will be typical Powell-Cody, I think we will go at each other like we always do,” Borders said. “I’m sure they’re going to come at us with everything they’ve got. They have a bunch of guys back that have played a lot of baseball.”