The Powell Pioneer ‘B’ team capped a solid season with a 1-2 finish at the state tournament, concluding the summer with a 21-15 record.

At the state tournament the Pioneers started with a crucial win, defeating Cheyenne Post 6 Prep 11-9, fighting back from an eight run fifth inning with eight runs of their own in the sixth and seventh to take the victory.

“I thought we did really well at state,” manager Tyler England said. “We came out that first game and beat Cheyenne in a really tough baseball game. That thing was back-and-forth the whole time until we were able to pull away at the end and then keep it that way. Hands down their best baseball game of the season … It was the perfect time for us to climax and hit our peak, it really was.”

Garrett Davis led with three hits as Owen Jones, Will Hatch and Karzten Carter each added two.

Hatch led with three RBIs and Jones added two while Parker Clark added one.

Three pitchers combined for the win on the mound.

In the second contest the Pioneers fell to Sheridan 21-9, where a 12-run third inning proved to be the downfall as seven errors in the contest made up for the Pioneers outhitting the Cavalry.

Davis again led with three hits, Jones and Hatch added two each.

Hatch led with four RBIs as Clark added two, Jones and Kenny Parker each had one.

Powell walked 13 batters and struck out only two in the contest.

“We just lost a tough one against Sheridan after that, and we were still sitting in OK shape,” England said.

In an elimination contest against Bridger Valley the Pioneers again had two big innings that proved to be fatal as six runs each in the first and the sixth led to a 17-9 Bridger Valley win and an end to Powell’s season.

Wade Gernhart led with three hits as Jones added two.

Gernhart had two RBIs alongside Parker to lead the Pioneers.

Four pitchers combined in the effort, giving up 11 earned runs, striking out one and walking 13.

“We definitely needed to get through Bridger Valley with maybe not our best remaining pitcher we had at that point, because in my mind, we’d rather throw our third or fourth guy against Bridger Valley,” England said. “I still don’t know, like now, if that’s the right or wrong thing to do. It’s one of the conundrums, the puzzle box that is pitching rotation in a tournament for coaches to figure out. I’m still not sure if I did it right or wrong, but that was at least the thought process behind it.”

Despite falling on day three, England was proud of how the team competed at the state tournament.

“I was wicked proud of the way they played at state … They never showed any kind of quit. They battled it out till the end,” England said. “Just didn’t have enough gas that third day against Bridger Valley. We didn’t play quite well enough to get that one done.”

STRONG YEAR

Overall the Pioneers enjoyed a successful year, having a consistent roster for much of the season and getting plenty of playing time with few shifts from the varsity team down and the ‘C’ team up to ‘B’.

“The more static nature of the rosters this year, it was cool that we had enough kids in the whole program to be able to do that,” England said. “It would have been nice to have a couple of those ‘A’ guys when we went down to state, just to have a few more arms in the rotation. But it was really fun. This being my second year with those guys, we got to hit the ground running a lot harder this year.”

He said this group was able to review and remind them of things this season rather than introducing them to entirely new concepts from the beginning.

“It was a lot of fun. They’re a talented group of baseball players and I know they’re hungry for it. I expect good things out of them,” England said.

Jones was the leading batter for the Pioneers with a .470 average, recording 47 hits and 27 RBIs while scoring 54 runs. Close behind was Hatch, who had a .464 average, and had 51 hits, two inside the park home runs and 54 RBIs.

Those two also led on the mound, as Jones pitched 44 innings, going 7-2 with a 1.75 ERA and recording 93 strikeouts, while Hatch pitched 23-1/3 innings, going 2-0 with a 5.7 ERA and striking out 31.

“I think even more so where they had an impact outside of pitching and hitting was their demeanor and their attitude,” England said. “Will and Owen have another gear when it comes to putting their nose to the grindstone, and those kids get after it every single day … Owen is a stud on the mound. He’s probably the best pitcher that we saw at ‘B’ all year long, whether playing for or against … Him and Will both throw hard for this level … Will, holy smokes, that kid is a maniac on the bases.”

The Pioneers had a few other batters over .300, as Gernhart, Davis, Clark and Carter all hit over that mark.

Davis and Joel Baxter each had over 20 innings pitched as well, with Davis recording a 3.706 ERA on the mound and striking out 23.

“I was so pleased with the growth in the baseball IQ department this year,” England said. “We were really able to continue to build on that foundation that we had started the previous season, and the growth that I saw out of these guys was a lot of fun.”

He said while this group had another good year together, he expects several players to move up next season and compete at the top level and bring a new dynamic to the group.

“Next year it’ll be different again because some of them are going to get pulled up to ‘A’. It’s going to evolve the dynamic a little bit,” England said. “But a really fun, easy group of kids to work with, and they’re going to be good because they work their butts off for it and care.”