Powell salvages split in nightcap

The Douglas Cats kept Powell bats silent for much of Monday, but the Pioneers were still able to salvage a doubleheader split in American Legion baseball action. Powell was shut out 3-0 in the opener before bouncing back for a 4-1 victory in the late game.

First-year Pioneer Frankie Vogt went the distance in Powell’s win, striking out 10 Douglas batters in the process. Vogt carried a shutout into the top of the seventh inning before the Cats scored their only run when Olie Olson’s two-out flip to Vogt covering first base strayed wide of the pitcher, enabling a Douglas runner to score from third.

Vogt retired the next batter on a ground ball to short to close out the game.

“Frankie threw a good game,” said Pioneer head coach Mike Jameson. “He challenged batters and kept the ball around the strike zone for most of the night.”

Perhaps most important, Vogt retired the lead-off hitter in all seven of the innings he threw. Four of those seven were retired via strikeout.

The Pioneers’ pitcher also scored the game’s first run, leading off the second inning with a double. Vogt came home one batter later as Colt Nix doubled him across home plate. Nix finished the game 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles.

Powell added two runs in the fifth inning on RBI singles from Tyler England and Jake Beuster. Powell’s final run in the contest came in the sixth after Nix connected for a lead-off double and Hayden Cragoe brought him around two batters later with an RBI double of his own.

The Pioneers finished the game with seven hits, four of which were doubles. In addition to Nix’s 2-for-3 performance, England finished the contest 2-for-4.

That production far surpassed what the Pioneers were able to produce in their first game of the night. After seeing an afternoon rain shower push the first pitch back more than half an hour, the Pioneers struggled for just two hits in the opening.

Vogt and Justin Lynn hit back-to-back two-out singles in the second inning to account for Powell’s only hits of the night.

The lack of an offensive punch squandered a solid pitching effort from Beuster. The ace of the Pioneers’ staff this summer entered Monday’s game carrying an ERA of 1.19.

Douglas broke into the scoring column in the third inning as a lead-off walk came around and scored on a Pioneer error. The Cats tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning.

For the game, Beuster fanned six batters, allowing just three hits and three walks.

Powell slides to 12-9 after the doubleheader split. The team begins play in a tournament at Williston, N.D., today (Thursday). The four-day event runs through Sunday.

Powell’s next home game comes Wednesday, June 22, when the team hosts Cody in a conference doubleheader. Powell will also host its annual Heavy Metal Classic tournament June 24-26, marking the longest home stand of the summer for the team.