A difficult weekend led to a 1-3 record for the Powell Pioneers, who were swept at home by Lovell 9-7 and 12-3 on Friday before splitting a pair of games against the Billings Expos on the road Saturday with a 4-1 win and an 8-2 loss.

LOVELL 9, POWELL 7

In a second set of matchups between the two teams, the Pioneers (9-14) and Mustangs (9-10) battled in a game that featured two big innings for each team.

Both teams struggled early, but the Pioneers got things started in the bottom of the third, when Ben Ostermiller walked and Ryan Barrus singled to put two on with one out.

Jordan Loera doubled and scored both, making it 2-0 Powell.

He advanced to third on a ground out, before scoring on a single by Abel Teten to make it 3-0.

Cole Fauskee doubled and scored Teten, and the Pioneers led 4-0 after the third.

That momentum immediately stopped, as the Mustangs had an answer in the top of the fourth.

A single and an error put two runners on to lead off, before another single scored a run, advanced the runner to third and made it 4-1.

During the next at bat, a steal attempt at second by the Mustangs led to an error by the Pioneers and allowed the runner from third to score and cut the lead to 4-2.

A wild pitch advanced the runner from second to third, and a walk put runners on the corners, before a triple brought in both runs and made it 4-4.

Another batter walked before a wild pitch scored the final run of the inning and made it 5-4 Lovell.

“That’s been the story of our season so far,” manager Jason Borders said. “We play really good for five innings then bad for one or two and that’s what gets us. Until we figure out those, it’s going to be rough.”

Powell had to wait until the bottom of the fifth to find a tying run starting with a Loera single with one out.

Caden Diaz followed with a walk, before Teten’s single scored Loera and made it 5-5.

Powell did not find a way to reclaim the lead, and with the two teams going scoreless in the sixth, they were deadlocked heading into the seventh inning.

Lovell got on after a single followed by a sac bunt, and a single scored the runner to make it 6-5.

Another single got a second runner on, before a double scored both runners and made it 8-5.

Lovell added one more through another double and made it 9-5.

Powell got its chance in the bottom half of the seventh, starting with a Barrus walk and a Loera single to put two on.

Diaz doubled and scored one, and Teten walked to load the bases with no outs.

Fauskee walked and scored another run, but three straight strikeouts ended the contest 9-7.

Powell outhit Lovell 9-8 but committed the only two errors in the game.

Loera and Teten each led with three hits and two RBIs while Fauskee chipped in two RBIs.

Diaz went 6-1/3 on the mound, giving up three hits, one earned along with eight strikeouts and three walks.

LOVELL 12, POWELL 3

In the second doubleheader the offense started early for both teams, before the Pioneers were stopped in their tracks while the Mustangs continued their strong hitting.

Lovell started the game with two singles and eventually scored thanks to a wild pitch and passed ball to make it 2-0 after the top of the first.

Powell answered in the bottom of the first, leading off with an Ostermiller single.

Loera and Teten walked with one out, before Fauskee doubled and scored all three runners and made it 3-2 Powell after the first.

That lead held until the top of the third where the visitors exploded to take the lead.

Six hits, one walk and one error helped the Mustangs bring 11 batters to the plate in the third inning, scoring seven runs and taking a 9-3 lead.

A pair of singles and a pair of walks led to a runner scoring in the fourth inning as Lovell extended the lead to 10-3.

In the top of the fifth a two run home run made it a 12-3 game as the Pioneers fell for a second straight game.

Lovell outhit Powell 15-5 in the game, as Powell committed both errors while Lovell committed none.

“They (Lovell) did hit the ball well. I think Lovell is one of the better teams in the state,” Borders said. “When we play them we’re gonna have to be at our best. I think they’re right up there at the top as a team that is going to compete for a state championship.”

Ostermiller led going 2-4 at the plate while Fauskee had all three RBIs going 1-2.

POWELL 4, BILLINGS 1

In Billings on Saturday the Pioneers took on the Expos (1-1), looking to recover after a couple of difficult weekends.

Both teams had baserunners over the first three innings but it was the Pioneers who got on the board first in the top of the fourth.

Diaz singled to lead off, before advancing to second on a passed ball.

Kolby Gates doubled and brought him home, before Dominik Bieber followed suit and scored Gates and Powell led 2-0.

A pair of doubles scored a runner in the bottom of the fourth for Billings to cut the lead to 2-1.

Talon Nuss was hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth, and stole second to get in scoring position.

Diaz joined him after being hit by a pitch, before Fauskee singled and scored Nuss, advancing Diaz to third.

Fauskee stole second, before Diaz eventually scored on a passed ball and Powell made it a 4-1 game.

Powell didn’t allow more than two baserunners the final three innings and the Pioneers finished with a 4-1 win.

Fauskee went 2-4 at the plate with an RBI as Gates and Bieber each added one hit for an RBI each.

Booka Fazen went 4-1/3 innings, giving up four hits, one earned, one walk and six strikeouts.

“He (Fazen) held them in check,” Borders said. “I feel like he improves every outing … One of the better games he’s thrown all spring. That’s (the Expos) a good team. When we play to our capabilities we are a pretty good baseball team.”

Ostermiller gave up two hits in 2-2/3 innings in relief with six strikeouts.

BILLINGS 8, POWELL 2

Starting out the second game the Pioneers got on the board early, but a mid-inning rally by the hosts gave the Expos the win.

Ostermiller walked to lead off, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball.

He scored on a ground out, and Powell led 1-0 after the first.

Powell extended its lead in the third, starting with Christian Love reaching on an error, and Brenton Henke singling to join him.

Ostermiller bunted, but Love was out advancing to third on a fielder’s choice.

Henke and Ostermiller advanced on a passed ball, before Henke scored on a ground out to make it 2-0.

Three errors mixed with a pair of hits plagued the Pioneers in the bottom of the third, allowing the hosts to score three runs and take a 3-2 lead.

Powell loaded the bases in the top of the fourth but couldn’t find a run, before five singles and two walks scored four more runs for the hosts in the bottom of the fourth to make it 7-2.

“It seems like every game we have one of those innings that blows up and we fall apart,” Borders said.

In the bottom of the fifth the Expos added one more run after a triple and a walk put runners on the corners.

A pickoff caught the runner going to second which allowed the run to score and Billings earned the 8-2 win.

Billings outhit Powell 9-5 and the Pioneers committed more errors 4-2.

Five different Pioneers recorded a hit.

CONFERENCE GAMES

Powell opened conference play on Wednesday night in Riverton; those games were determined after the press deadline.

Despite errors plaguing the Pioneers recently, Borders feels the team needs to improve its hitting after recording 30 strikeouts over the previous four game stretch.

“If we can get our bats to start working for us I feel like we can beat anybody,” Borders said. “What we worked on was putting the ball in play with two strikes. We don’t give ourselves a chance with strikeouts … We’ve left a ton of guys on base this year because we strike out at the wrong times. Our offense just has to come on, there’s no other way to say it.”

The Pioneers return home on Tuesday, June 10, hosting the Cody Cubs (15-4) in a pair of conference games at 5 and 7 p.m.