Home opener scheduled for SaturdayThe Powell Pioneers struck out on their attempt to start the 2012 Legion baseball season. A scheduled Sunday doubleheader in Billings was rained out, forcing the team to wait at least another week to begin the new season. The season opener could now come on Saturday, when the Pioneers are scheduled to host the Billings Halos at 11 a.m., before facing off against the Casper Oilers at 4 p.m. The Halos and Oilers will play each other in a 1:30 p.m. game.

After suffering an unexpected early exit from the post-season last summer, the Pioneers, who captured state titles in 2009 and 2010, are itching to get back on the diamond. For fans of Powell’s Legion team, several of the faces will be familiar.

Tyler England and Colt Nix are the only regular starters off last year’s team who won’t be returning this season. The team will have to wait a few weeks for the return of Jake Beuster, currently finishing out his college season at Williston State, but expects to see the rest of its starting lineup back on the diamond.

That list includes a pair of players ranked among Wyoming’s top 25 by ESPN.com. Seth Gilmore, who has already signed a letter of intent to continue playing with Miles Community College in the fall, and multi-year starter Josh Cragoe headline a talented group of returners. Both will be called upon to deliver at the plate, in the field and, when needed, on the mound for the Pioneers.

“Pitching is always the key,” notes Mike Jameson, back for another campaign at the helm of Powell’s Legion program. “Right now, we’ve got a lot of arms. Josh, Seth, Jake, Justin Lynn, Frankie Vogt — those are all guys that saw quite a bit of time. Olie Olson and Hayden Cragoe threw for us last year and then we’ve got Cory Heny and Ty Whiteman coming in. Things can always change, but right now we’ve got a lot of guys who can go.”

In the infield, the Pioneers platooned Buester and Vogt at first base last season depending on pitching assignments. To that mix this summer, the team adds Bryce Wright, a former Billings Halo member from Greybull.

“He’s been well-coached,” Jameson said of Wright. “He knows the game and we’re glad to have him.”

At second, Hayden Cragoe is the lone returner. Depth at that position will be added by Sho Hei Sato, a Japanese exchange student who will be with the team until mid-July, and Zander Andreasen, moving up from the Powell Babe Ruth team, which like the Pioneers has claimed two of the last three state diamond titles.

Cragoe and Gilmore will get the bulk of playing time at shortstop with Heny also taking reps at the position in practice. Manning the hot corner at third base will likely be Olson, Josh Cragoe and Gage Henderson.

The Pioneers have no shortage of bodies in the outfield either. Heny, Whiteman, Lynn, Dillon Nix, Brendon Phister, Garrett Czapla and Corey Elton are all in the running for a unit that will be one of the few where fans might have to learn some new names from a season ago.

Behind the dish, Cragoe and Olson will be calling the signals on a routine basis.

“With 18 kids out this year, it puts competition at every position and makes these kids have to work for it,” said Jameson. “It puts us in a position where we can try a lot of different combinations and see what works best. A lot of these guys have played a lot of baseball in the past and know what to expect at this level and what we expect from them.”

Jameson expects a team that can throw some big numbers on the board offensively. The key to the season will be finding reliable arms to use for pitching.

“We have a lot of good athletes,” Jameson said. “We’ve got some pop in the lineup and hopefully by the end of the year we can find starting guys to throw out there and be competitive.”

Fans of the Pioneers will notice differences with the post-season format this summer. Legion baseball will automatically advance the state’s four AA programs — Gillette, Casper, Cheyenne and Rock Springs, which moves to AA ball this year — to the state tournament. Those four teams will be seeded and play on one half of the state bracket.

The other half of the state bracket will be comprised of four Class A teams — the champion and runner-up of the North and South district tournaments. Both bracket halves will play a double-elimination format among themselves, eliminating the AA-A crossover games that had been the source of much discussion and controversy in recent summers. The winner of the Class A state bracket will be crowned the state champion for that division and will have the option, should it wish, to challenge the winner of the AA half of the bracket for the overall state title and a spot in the larger American Legion baseball postseason tournament.

The change also means the Pioneers’ North district will undergo a change as the Gillette Rustlers and the Casper Drillers move in to take the place of the AA programs from those communities. Powell’s Northwest conference remains the same with Lovell, Cody and Riverton joining the Pioneers.