Coaching jobs flip-flop in offseason

The Powell Pioneers have announced their 2013 American Legion baseball schedule. While some dates on the calendar are still subject to change, the team will once again begin play in early May with its goal to still be playing ball in August come the state and Northwest regional tournaments.

Jason Borders will serve as the head coach for the team this summer, bumping up from assistant coach as he and former Pioneers skipper Mike Jameson flip-flop roles for the summer ahead.

“Basically, he’s going to school and has to go do some stuff in Pittsburgh during the summer,” Borders said of Jameson. “He didn’t feel comfortable being the head coach knowing that he’d be gone for a couple weeks, so we’re switching roles. From a coaching standpoint, it isn’t going to change anything. Mike and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to our philosophy and stuff.”

Borders noted the team currently has 16 members on roster for the summer. The kids have been gathering and hitting indoors for a couple of months. With the arrival of warmer weather this past week, Borders has taken advantage of the opportunity to move practice outdoors to the diamond.

“We’ve only got two seniors in Gage Henderson and Frankie Vogt, so we’ll be a young team,” Borders said. “I’m not worried though, we’ll be all right. We’ve got a good group coming back.”

That group will make its debut on May 4 in Sheridan for a doubleheader. The team’s home opener comes the following weekend as the Pioneers play two against the Billings Halos.

The Pioneers’ home tournament, featuring Miles City, Green River, Laramie, the Billings Angels, Cody, Douglas and Lovell will take place June 21-23.

The Pioneers’ district tournament takes place July 24-27. The state tournament is slated for July 31-Aug. 3 on the calendar and the Northwest regional tournament, which this year is hosted by Wheatland, runs from Aug.7 to Aug. 10.

Here’s the complete Pioneers’ schedule as it stands currently. All non-tournament games are scheduled as doubleheaders.

June 1 — vs. Billings Halos; June 3 — at Glendive; June 4 — at Miles City; June 7-9 — at Cody tournament; June 13-16 — at Williston tournament; June 18 — vs. Lovell; June 21-23 — Powell Heavy Metal Classic; June 25 — at Riverton; June 26 — vs. Cody; June 27-30 ­— at Belgrade tournament.

Aug. 7-10 — Northwest Regional tournament (at Wheatland).

Note: The Pioneers will be adding a home doubleheader against Sheridan to this schedule. The date for that pair of contests has yet to be determined.