Two of the three goals set by this year’s edition of the Powell Pioneers have been achieved — after Powell cruised past Lovell 13-1 and Cody 8-1 to claim the ‘A’ West District title in Lovell on Thursday and Friday.

POWELL 13, LOVELL 1

Starting out the tournament on Thursday thanks to a bye on Wednesday, the Pioneers (41-17) got another opportunity to take on an ‘A’ Northwest opponent in the hosts, No. 3 seeded Lovell Mustangs (21-23) — who had upset the ‘A’ Southwest No. 2 seed Evanston 5-2 the day prior.

Things started well for the hosts, as the Mustangs scored a run after a walk, steal and a single to take a 1-0 lead against the Pioneers after the first inning.

“Sometimes we just don’t get going,” manager Jason Borders said.

Walks to Ryan Cordes and Dalton Worstell got runners on for Powell with two outs.

A passed ball and an error by the pitcher allowed Cordes to score, but Worstell was eventually picked off at second and the top half of the inning ended tied 1-1.

Brock Johnson settled in on the mound before the Pioneers took control in the third inning.

Jacob Gibson walked to lead off, Ethan Welch was hit by a pitch and Johnson walked to load the bases.

Gibson scored on a wild pitch, advancing the other two runners in the process.

Cade Queen scored Welch on a sac fly, and the throw to the catcher got past, allowing Johnson to score on a heads up play.

Carrying the momentum, Trey Stenerson stepped up and hit a ball to left field — carrying over the fence for a solo home run to make it 5-1.

“That (home run) was what got us moving a bit,” Borders said. “Once we get some breathing room we relax a little bit and swing it better.”

Continuing the route with two outs, Aidan Wantulok and Cordes singled.

Both runners advanced on a passed ball and a single by Worstell brought in one to make it 6-1.

Gibson singled on a ball to right field, scoring a pair to extend it to 8-1.

Welch doubled to center to score Gibson, and Johnson doubled to score Welch and make it 10-1.

Powell continued to push the envelope in the top of the fourth now trying to reach the mercy rule and beat the impending rainstorm.

Queen led off with a walk, stole second and advanced on a Stenerson single.

Wantulok hit a sac fly to bring in Queen, while a Cordes double scored Stenerson and extend the lead to 12-1.

Aiden Greenwald replaced Johnson on the mound, and Powell continued to push to the finish line.

The final run came in the fifth after Queen got on through a double and was driven in by a Stenerson double to make it 13-1.

Gibson and Stenerson each finished with two RBIs, while Johnson, Queen, Wantulok, Cordes, Worstell and Welch each had one.

Johnson and Greenwald gave up two combined hits while combining for six strikeouts.

POWELL 8, CODY 1

Thursday’s victory meant another Park County matchup in the championship game on Friday, with the Pioneers looking to continue their recent success against their rival Cody Cubs (33-20-1). The Cubs reached the championship game after a 12-0 victory over Rawlins on Wednesday and a 3-2 victory over Green River on Thursday.

Unlike Thursday, the Pioneers scored quickly against the Cubs.

Johnson singled, and he advanced on a Jhett Schwahn sac bunt.

Queen popped out, before Stenerson stepped up and hit a ball more than 380 feet over the center field wall to make it 2-0 in the first.

“Trey’s home run relaxed everybody,” Borders said. “Once we score a few runs then we play better.”

The offense came with two outs, with Wantulok hitting a single and Cordes hit by a pitch to put two on.

Worstell singled to score Wantulok and Powell led 3-0 after the first.

Cody got one back in the top of the second, when a single put Trey Thomasson on and an errant pick off throw to tag him out at first got past that allowed him to reach second.

He scored on a single by Wyatt Carlson.

After rolling through the whole lineup in the first the Pioneers struggled over the next two innings and didn’t get a hit until the bottom of the fourth.

Greenwald hit a single, and advanced to third on a Johnson double with two outs.

A hard hit ball by Schwahn to the third baseman led to a tight play at first that saw the ball get by and score both Greenwald and Johnson to make it 5-1 after the fourth.

“If you win more innings than they do, then nine times out of 10 you’re going to win,” Borders said.

In the fifth, the final scoring came when the bases were loaded after singles by Wantulok, Cordes and Worstell.

With two outs, Welch stepped up and hit a ball deep to center field, clearing the bases and making it 8-1.

Unfortunately for Welch, he was tagged out trying to advance to third and the inning ended.

“I thought that the bottom of our order played really well,” Borders said.

Queen had not started a game since July 2 against Torrington. He continued to perform on the mound, making it all the way to the seventh but reached his pitch count with one out left.

Gibson stepped on the mound, but a runner reached on an error to give Cody a small glimpse of hope.

The final hit flew out to Cordes in left field, and the Pioneers won their first ‘A’ West District Tournament since 2020.

Queen gave up three hits and one earned run while finishing with six strikeouts on the mound.

Welch led with three RBIs, followed by Stenerson with two — Schwahn and Worstell each had one RBI.

STATE TOURNAMENT

The final goal of the 2023 Pioneers stands within reach this week, with Powell heading to the state tournament in Sheridan beginning on Wednesday.

Being the No. 1 seed in the west the Pioneers drew the No. 4 out of the east, the host Sheridan Jets (18-31) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

“I don’t know what to expect out of them,” Borders said. “We definitely have to jump on them early and make them play from behind. If we can get out of there in five (innings) that would set us up for the rest of the tournament.”

The Jets went 1-2 at the ‘A’ East District Tournament in Douglas this past weekend, but earned the final seed with an automatic bid as hosts.

Powell and Sheridan split the season series 2-2, with all games played in Sheridan. Powell won 7-5 and 13-3 in its two victories while Sheridan won 5-4 and 6-4 in its two victories with the most recent games being played in early June.

If Powell wins the Pioneers will play again at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. If the Pioneers lose they will drop to the consolation bracket at 1 p.m. on Thursday. All games will be played at Ernie Rotellini Field at Thorne-Rider Stadium in Sheridan.

Potential opponents for Thursday include the west’s No. 3 seeded Mustangs and the east No. 2 seeded Casper Drillers (28-18-2) who finished runners-up in Douglas to the host Cats in a 2-1 extra inning contest.

Powell and Casper have not met this season while the Pioneers are 5-0 against the Mustangs.

“That’s the only team we haven’t faced this year and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Borders said. “Neither one of us know a lot about each other. They (Lovell) are scrappy. They just stick around.”

The Pioneers will be eyeing their first state title since 2010, which was the second of two consecutive titles.

“They knew their job wasn’t done (at districts),” Borders said. “If they play like they have played since the beginning of June we will be in good shape.”