CODY — This time, there was no dramatic turnaround for the Powell Pioneers.

It wouldn’t have mattered.

Needing a doubleheader sweep of rival Cody to secure the Northwest Conference title, Powell fell far from the mark Tuesday in Cody as the Cubs posted a 9-0 shutout and a 6-1 victory to claim the conference and the top seed in the Northwest heading into next week’s Single A District Tournament in Wheatland.

In a doubleheader on June 23 in Powell, Cody dismantled the Pioneers 25-1 before Powell rallied for a 4-3 walk-off victory in game two. But there was no such luck for the visitors on Tuesday.

The Pioneers mustered just six hits between the two ballgames, and drew two walks against 18 strikeouts (10 in game two from Cody ace pitcher John Beaudrie).

“Just disappointing,” Powell head coach Jason Borders said. “It still sucks. The day just in general.”

Powell (16-25, 4-3 Northwest) will finish its regular season with the Billings Halos Tournament, which starts Thursday and ends Sunday in Billings.

Cody 6, Powell 1

For the second time this season, the Pioneers were unable to solve Beaudrie. The right-hander went all seven innings, limiting Powell to just two hits, an unearned run and walked two with his 10 strikeouts.

The Pioneers enjoyed a short-lived lead in the first inning when Cory Heny reached on an error, allowing Teagan Cordes — who had walked — to score from second base. But that was it for Powell as the Cubs posted four runs in their half of the inning off Powell starting pitcher Heny. Cody later tacked on a run in the third and one in the fourth.

Heny and Tyler Feller accounted for Powell’s two hits.

Heny went all six innings for the Pioneers, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Powell committed two fielding errors.

“We just didn’t hit the ball,” Borders said. “We played decent enough of defense, but we had two innings in which we gave up a bunch of runs, and that was the story of both games. You just can’t do that with Beaudrie on the mound.”

Cody 9, Powell 0

Powell starting pitcher Carson Asher cruised through the first two innings of Tuesday’s first game, but Cody erupted for seven third-inning runs that effectively sealed the outcome.

On the mound, Cameron Wright kept the Pioneers at bay with seven innings of four-hit ball. He walked none and fanned eight.

Asher lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits with one walk and a strikeout. Cordes had two hits, while Heny and Ty Dearcorn each had one. Powell committed two errors.

“We had one error in the first game and two in the second, I can live with that,” Borders said. “We just didn’t hit the ball. We’ve got away with getting three hits and winning this year, but Cody is too good to not put the ball in play and make things happen.”

Brown, Sanders Gone

Powell starting pitcher Matt Brown left the team Tuesday after succumbing to an increasingly serious back ailment and will not return. Brown was 4-4 with a 1.75 earned run average and 38 strikeouts in 36 innings this summer. Brown had recently suffered other minor injuries, but continued pitching. His last game came on June 28 in a 14-7 loss to Jackson in which Brown lasted just three innings due to what are believed to be bulging disks in his lower back.

Powell suffered another blow when infielder Grady Sanders stepped awkwardly near first base during the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Sanders appeared to badly injure his right knee and had to be carried off the field. Borders said it’s doubtful he will return this season.

The entire series of events left the coach in a somber mood Wednesday morning.

“I lost two 18-year-olds — two big pieces of our team — in 24 hours,” Borders said. “The two losses to Cody are the least of our problems.”

What’s next ...

The Pioneers begin tournament play in Billings with a 12:45 p.m. game against Miles City (Montana). On Friday, Powell will face Lovell at 3:30 p.m. before matching up with the Billings Cardinals at 6:30 p.m. Saturday will see Powell take on the Billings Angels. Games on Sunday will be decided by results of the previous three days’ games.