Kicking off ‘A’ West action on the road the Powell Pioneers earned a two game sweep over Riverton on Wednesday, defeating the Raiders 9-4 and 11-4.

POWELL 9, RIVERTON 4

Looking to get their bats going and back in the win column, the Pioneers (11-14 overall, 2-0 ‘A’ West) hoped to get on the board early against the Raiders (12-15 overall, 2-2 ‘A’ West).

Powell did just that, starting with a leadoff walk to Ben Ostermiller.

He advanced to second on a Talon Nuss sac bunt, and moved to third on a wild pitch.

Abel Teten stepped up and scored Ostermiller on a two out RBI single to give Powell a 1-0 lead after the first.

That lead remained until the top of the fourth, when the Pioneers got an opportunity to expand their advantage.

Teten walked to lead off, before stealing second and then scoring on a Cole Fauskee single.

Ryan Barrus and Trevion Solberg walked to join Fauskee to load the bases, but Powell was unable to do any additional damage despite no outs as the Pioneers led 2-0.

Powell again added to its lead in the fifth, as Teten walked with two outs before Fauskee doubled to score him and make it a 3-0 game.

Needing more insurance to pull away, the Pioneers found an extra gear in the sixth inning and the hits they needed to earn a conference opening win.

Solberg led off with a triple, then scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0.

Kolby Gates followed with a walk, but was out at second on a fielder’s choice on Brenton Henke’s hit.

Ostermiller joined Henke with a single, and both runners advanced a base on the Raiders’ throw to put two runners in scoring position.

Nuss singled and scored both runners, making it 6-0.

Caden Diaz grounded out but advanced Nuss, before Teten walked to put two on with two outs.

Fauskee stepped up, hitting a deep drive to left field and hit an inside the park home run to score three runs and make it a 9-0 game.

“He (Fauskee) was swinging it pretty well that game,” manager Jason Borders said. “That was pretty big for us.”

A pair of walks and three hits in the bottom of the sixth allowed Riverton to score four runs in the bottom of the sixth, but Powell did not allow a baserunner in the bottom of the seventh to secure the 9-4 win.

Powell outhit Riverton 8-4 while neither team committed an error.

Fauskee led at the plate going 3-4 with five RBIs, while Ostermiller got the win on the mound, going six innings and giving up four hits, four earned runs, four walks and six strikeouts.

POWELL 11, RIVERTON 4

The Pioneers got off to an equally fast start in the second contest, manufacturing another early run through strong baserunning.

Ostermiller led off with a single, and advanced all the way to third on a sac bunt from Nuss, getting in a strong scoring position to start.

Diaz hit a sac fly, scoring Ostermiller and making it 1-0 Powell.

Riverton loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first, but wasn’t able to find a run before the Pioneers added more in the top of the second.

Solberg led off with a single, and scored on a Dominik Bieber double to make it 2-0.

Nuss followed with a two out double, scoring Bieber and making it 3-0.

Diaz added another run when his single scored Nuss, and Powell led 4-0.

It took until the top of the fourth for the Pioneers to add to their lead, when Nuss was hit by a pitch, Teten singled and Fauskee walked to load the bases with two outs.

Nuss scored on a passed ball and Barrus walked to reload the bases.

Solberg was hit by a pitch to score another, and the Pioneers led 6-0 after the fourth.

Riverton got two runs back in the bottom of the sixth, after a leadoff walk followed by a home run scored two, and the Pioneers led 6-2.

“That happens. The kid got ahold of a baseball and hit a home run,” Borders said.

Pulling away in the top of the seventh, Nuss walked with one out, before Diaz joined him with a single.

Teten singled to score Nuss, followed by a Fauskee single to make it an 8-2 game.

Decker Engesser walked to load the bases, and Solberg singled to score a pair and make it 10-2.

Bieber was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, before Ostermiller walked and scored one to make it 11-2.

Riverton scored two runs with a walk and two singles in the bottom of the seventh, and make the final score 11-4.

“For us to go down there and sweep them, we finally got to see the team we’ve been waiting for all year,” Borders said. “I felt like we’re a better team than we’ve shown all year. They were in control from the get go. The intensity was there for all 14 innings.”

Solberg led at the plate going 3-4 with three RBIs, while Diaz also went 2-3 with two RBIs.

Diaz got the win on the mound, going 6-2/3 innings — giving up six hits, three earned runs, three walks along with 11 strikeouts.

CODY TONIGHT

The Powell Pioneers will continue their flurry of conference games today (Tuesday) at home against the Cody Cubs (19-7 overall, 2-0 ‘A’ West).

Borders is hopeful the team can carry its momentum into the games against their rivals, while being uncertain of what to expect from the Cubs early in the year.

“That was the team myself and the coaching staff have seen at practice and have known are capable of being,” Borders said. “The question is can we keep that rolling and keep that intensity against Cody? … It’s so hard to know what to expect out of them. We don’t have any real common opponents. Their record is really good. I don’t know what to expect.”

First pitch is set for 5 p.m. for the first game with the second game to follow at 7 p.m.