A strong weekend at the plate and a pair of shutout innings earned Brock Johnson MVP honors at the ‘A’ state tournament in Sheridan this past weekend.

For the weekend Johnson finished with 11 hits over six games, finishing with a .524 batting average while driving in eight RBIs for the Pioneers.

That included a three-run home run in the state championship game on Sunday, which gave Powell the lead for good in the fifth inning against Cody.

“We knew coming in that it was going to be a slugfest,” Johnson said. “It was insane, it was a good feeling.”

Johnson could only step on the mound once after being named the ‘A’ West pitcher of the year, coming in to finish the final two innings against Douglas on Saturday.

He ended up getting the win on the mound to help Powell advance, but was unable to get a chance to pitch in the state championship game after throwing one pitch too many.

“I was heartbroken knowing that I couldn’t go at them (Cody),” Johnson said. “I knew we still had pitchers left that could get the job done and I wasn’t too worried about it.”

The Pioneers were able to finish off the weekend and bring home the state title to Powell for the first time since 2010, something Johnson felt was a huge deal to the community.

“It’s insane. This group of guys hasn’t won one ever,” Johnson said. “Getting one is an insane feeling, and bringing it back to Powell is what matters.”