A strong surge at the end of the season propelled the Powell Pioneer C team to a fourth place finish at the state tournament after ending with a 2-2 record in Douglas this past weekend.

LARAMIE 7, POWELL 6

Opening up the tournament as the top seed out of the Northwest, the Pioneers (20-13) opened up play against a familiar opponent in Laramie (24-16) — a team Powell had defeated twice the weekend prior at a tournament in Gillette.

Powell took the lead in the bottom of the first when Talon Nuss got on through a single, but was out on the next play when Dominik Bieber hit into a fielder’s choice.

Bieber stole second during Ben Ostermiller’s at bat, before Ostermiller hit an inside-the-park home run to score both runs and make it 2-0.

Dakota Erickson continued the strong early play and got on through a single, and stole second before an error on Xander Clark’s hit scored Erickson to make it 3-0 early.

Powell extended the lead further in the bottom of the third.

Decker Engesser walked to lead off but was out on a fielder’s choice to second on Ostermiller’s single.

Ostermiller stole second before Erickson drove him in on a single to make it 4-0.

Laramie found its answer in the top of the fourth, scoring four runs on walks, an error, a hit batter and one official hit, which came on a triple to bring in the tying run.

Three walks loaded the bases with no outs for Laramie in the top of the sixth, before two singles scored three and gave the Rangers the lead.

Down to their final out and strike in the bottom of the seventh, the Pioneers created offense on an Engesser single, followed by a double by Ostermiller that scored Engesser and made it 7-5.

An error on an Erickson pop fly scored Ostermiller, giving Powell a chance down 7-6.

Clark got on through a single but Powell was unable to find the tying run and fell 7-6.

“That was a battle,” manager Hunter Christner said. “We showed up not quite as ready as we needed to be. But my guys battled and I am super proud of them for that.”

POWELL 14, DOUGLAS 8

After losing the first game the Pioneers dropped down to the consolation bracket, and took on host Douglas (9-28).

Clark got things started immediately with a single, before Bieber and Engesser were hit by pitches to load the bases with no outs.

Carter Fauskee singled to bring in two runners, and Engesser later scored on an error by the pitcher to make it 3-0 after the top of the first.

Douglas answered with three runs of its own, keeping the score tied after the first.

In the second, Clark got on through an error before Bieber hit a double to put both in scoring position.

Engesser hit a single that brought in both and reestablished Powell’s lead.

Once again, Douglas had an answer and this time more in the bottom half of the inning, scoring two runs on a triple and another on an error to make it 6-5 in favor of the cats.

Erickson got on in the top of the third and advanced to second on an error, before advancing to third on a passed ball and scoring on Fauskee’s ground out to tie the game 6-6.

That score stood for the next three innings until Powell reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth.

Clark walked to lead off and advanced on a sac bunt by Bieber, before a triple from Engesser brought Clark in to make it 7-6.

Ostermiller grounded out and Powell took an 8-6 lead.

Erickson and Fauskee both singled and a Pratt Wambeke triple scored both to make it 10-6.

Ryder Stewart singled to score one, and Powell took an 11-6 lead to the bottom of the sixth.

Douglas scored two after loading the bases right away, but that was all the Cats could muster despite no outs.

Stewart was a major shift for the Pioneers on day two, moving from the outfield to the infield after Nuss injured his elbow the day prior.

“It was tough to lose Talon after the first game,” Christner said. “Ryder came in and did a great job, I’m super proud of him.”

Clark walked to lead off the seventh, followed by an error on Bieber’s hit and another walk to load the bases with no outs.

Ostermiller singled to score one, and an Erickson single brought in a pair to make it 14-8.

Powell finished the final half inning to take the 14-8 win.

POWELL 8, GILLETTE 6

Advancing in the consolation bracket meant the Pioneers matched up with Gillette (19-26) to keep their season alive.

Gillette got things started and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Powell had an answer early.

Clark walked and advanced on a sac bunt before Engesser was hit by a pitch and Ostermiller walked to load the bases with one out.

Fauskee hit a ground ball that led to an error, scoring two runs.

Ostermiller then scored on a passed ball to give the Pioneers a 3-2 lead heading into the second.

Gillette had an answer, scoring two in the second and one in the third to take a 5-3 lead.

That lead expanded in the fifth, with another run coming in to make it 6-3 and leaving Powell searching for answers.

Powell loaded the bases with one out through an error and two singles in the bottom of the fifth, and Fauskee scored on a fielder’s choice to cut the lead to 6-4.

In the sixth inning, Clark led off with a single followed by a Bieber double to get two on with no outs.

Engesser doubled to bring in both runners and tie the score 6-6.

Erickson singled to bring in Engesser after he stole third, and Erickson later scored on a Fauskee ground out to give Powell the 8-6 lead.

One Gillette batter got on in the top of the seventh but Powell shut down any comeback attempts and took the 8-6 victory.

“We put Gillette out and they won last year,” Christner said. “That just shows that baseball is a game where you can’t guarantee who is going to win just based on who shows up. Sometimes it goes one way and sometimes it goes another.”

LARAMIE 12, POWELL 2

Fighting all the way back in the consolation bracket after losing the opening game, the Pioneers once again matched up with Laramie with a berth in the consolation semifinals on the line.

Laramie scored three in the bottom of the first to make it 3-0.

Powell had runs early, after Ostermiller led off with a single and stole second before Wambeke brought him in on a single to make it 3-1.

An error throwing to the third baseman allowed Wambeke to score on a Stewart hit to cut the lead to 3-2.

Unfortunately for Powell, that was all of the offense that would come.

The bases were loaded in the top of the third, but that was Powell’s most serious threat as Laramie scored one in the bottom of the third and fourth to make it 5-2.

“It wasn’t until the end that they kind of whooped us,” Christner said.

Laramie added two in the fifth and five in the sixth which included a three run inside the park home run to end the Pioneers season.

SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE

The 2023 edition of the youngest Legion squad in Powell has come to a close, with the Pioneers showing growth throughout the season.

Bieber led Powell in hits with 53 while finishing with a .530 average at the plate in 100 at bats. Ostermiller drove in the most runs with 35 RBIs, just ahead of Erickson who was the other Pioneer to finish with 30 RBIs.

Engesser finished as the Pioneer with the most innings pitched at 41.2, 10 ahead of Bieber who pitched the second most.

Christner said that he saw a ton of growth and improvement among the team.

“I saw a ton of growth,” Christner said. “Between growing the mechanics and growing as a team through bonding — it’s been a super fun year and they battled till the end.”

He said that his goal with the team this year was to grow players to the point where they are B level baseball players playing on the C team, so that they do not have a large learning curve if they move up to the B team next season.

Christner believes he has some younger guys who will be able to step up as leaders on the C team.

“I’m super excited for what these guys have in their future,” Christner said.