After a slow start to the season the Powell Pioneers found their groove over the weekend, sweeping Lovell 8-0 and 2-0 before defeating the Gallatin Valley Posse 13-1 and 14-3 at Ed Lynn Field.

POWELL 8, LOVELL 0

Making the short trip to Cowley the Pioneers (5-6) took on the Mustangs (0-4) in a nonconference doubleheader.

Jordan Loera reached on a single and stole second before Dominik Bieber drove him in to make it 1-0 after the first.

The Pioneers added to the lead in the second, as August Teten walked to lead off, and advanced on a sac bunt by Carter Fauskee.

Teten advanced further on a wild pitch, and scored on a Ben Ostermiller single to make it 2-0.

Neither team threatened with more than one baserunner until the fifth, when the Pioneers loaded the bases with one out, but were unable to add to the lead after two straight pop outs.

Lovell’s biggest threat came with two baserunners in the bottom of the sixth, but Powell didn’t allow any runs before adding to its advantage in the final inning.

Talon Nuss started with a leadoff single, and scored on a single by Loera that turned into a triple following an error by the Mustangs to make it 3-0.

Bieber followed with a sac fly to score Loera and make it 4-0.

Caden Diaz walked, and Kolby Gates singled to put two on.

Teten hit a fielder’s choice to advance Diaz to third, before a Fauskee single scored Gates from second on a play at the plate and allowed Teten and Fauskee to advance to second and third.

Ostermiller walked, before Abel Teten’s single led to an error by the Mustangs, which allowed all three baserunners to score as Abel reached third.

Those were the final runs, as Lovell went three up three down in the bottom of the seventh to end the game 8-0.

Diaz went all seven innings, striking out nine, walking one and only giving up four hits.

“All three aspects came together and it started with pitching,” manager Jason Borders said. “Once our pitching takes hold we get better.”

Loera and August led with two hits each, Bieber had two RBIs to lead the Pioneers. Abel, Fauskee and Ostermiller each recorded an RBI.

Lovell committed the only two errors of the game.

POWELL 2, LOVELL 0

In the second game, despite two baserunners in the second inning, it took until the third for the Pioneers to get on the board.

Nuss reached on an error with two outs, and stole second before Loera singled to score him and make it 1-0.

Bieber followed with a double, scoring Loera and making it 2-0.

That proved to be the only offense the Pioneers needed, as neither team mustered more than two baserunners the remainder of the game.

Gates went the distance, striking out five, walking two and giving up only three hits.

“Two guys going full games under 100 pitches, you can’t ask for anything better there,” Borders said. “It [beating Lovell] was huge for us as far as getting our confidence back. Our pitching dominated … It was something we needed and it came at the right time … To put it all together on the road against Lovell was pretty good.”

Fauskee led with two hits, while Loera, Bieber and Gates each had one.

Loera and Bieber had the lone RBIs.

POWELL 13, GALLATIN VALLEY POSSE 1

Last second games were added for the Pioneers on Sunday, welcoming in the Posse (4-12).

Powell got the offense rolling early, as Nuss walked and August singled.

Loera singled to score Nuss, as he and August advanced further on an error.

Bieber’s sac fly scored one, and a ground out by Diaz scored another as Powell quickly led 3-0.

Gates singled, and stole second before Fauskee singled to score him and make it 4-0 after the first.

Powell added to its lead in the second, as Ostermiller singled, and Nuss walked to put two on.

August singled on a bunt, scoring Ostermiller and making it 5-0.

Loera doubled to score another, and Bieber hit into an error to score a pair, rounding all the way to third on the error and extending the lead to 8-0.

Diaz walked to put baserunners on the corners.

Gates singled to score another, advancing Diaz to third and making it 9-0.

Gates stole second, scoring Diaz on an error and allowing Gates to reach third.

A sac fly by Rowan Diaz scored a run to make it 11-0.

Ostermiller walked, and raced around the bases on a Nuss single to make it 12-0.

Powell added one more in the bottom of the fourth, as Ostermiller was hit by a pitch, Nuss singled and August was hit to load the bases with no outs.

Cael Kysar hit into a double play but scored one to make it 13-0.

Gallatin Valley got on the boardafter loading the bases with one out in the top of the fifth, using a double, walk and two singles to score the run and make the final score 13-1.

Powell recorded 12 hits, as Gates had three while Nuss, August and Loera each had two.

Bieber led with three RBIs, and Loera had two as the other with multiple in the contest as six others recorded an RBI.

Bieber went all five innings on the mound, striking out eight, walking three and giving up three hits with the one earned run.

“Bieber came out and threw a great game,” Borders said. “When our pitchers are throwing strikes and our defense plays behind them, we’re a good baseball team.”

POWELL 14, GALLATIN VALLEY POSSE 3

In the second contest the visitors struck first, as a walk and wild pitch but a runner on second and an error eventually led to a 1-0 scoreline.

Powell responded in the bottom of the first, as Nuss walked and a single by Gates followed by an errant throw allowed him to score and make it 1-1.

Gates stole second and advanced to third on an error, before Bieber singled to score him and make it 2-1.

A hit batter and two walks loaded the bases with one out in the second for Gallatin Valley, and another walk and a sac fly scored another to give the Posse a 3-2 lead.

A walk and single for Dakota Erickson and Fauskee followed by a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position, before Nuss singled to score both and give Powell the lead for good at 4-3.

Nuss stole second and third, and Ostermiller was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners.

Ostermiller stole second, and Gates singled to score both and make it 6-3.

Bieber walked and Caden singled to score one, before Bieber scored on a wild pitch and Rowan doubled to score his brother and made it 9-3.

Erickson reached on an error, and Fauskee singled to score one and make it 10-3.

Ryder Stewart walked, before Erickson scored on a wild pitch and Nuss hit a double to score one and make it 12-3 after the second.

In the fourth, Stewart walked and stole second before advancing to third on a passed ball. He scored on a Nuss single.

Nuss stole second and advanced to third on an error before Ostermiller walked. Nuss scored on a wild pitch, and that proved to be the final run for either team in the 14-3 Pioneer win.

“They were a young team, but it’s a Gallatin Valley team. They’re well coached,” Borders said. “A lot of these bigger schools (in Wyoming) are running three or four teams now in the senior division. We’re gonna have to play teams like this and when we do, we have to take care of business.”

Nuss led with three hits and four RBIs while Gates added two hits and three RBIs. Caden and Fauskee added two hits each as Powell finished with 11.

Nuss went 3-2/3 in relief striking out three, walking two and giving up one hit. Fauskee went 1-1/3 with three strikeouts, walks and earned runs with one hit.

WEEKEND OFF

The Pioneers now take this upcoming weekend off due to graduation, before heading over the mountain the final weekend of May.

Powell returns with a doubleheader to open conference play against the Jets on May 30 before taking on the Troopers in a nonconference matchup on May 31.

“We need to pick up where we left off,” Borders said. “Those (Jet games) are the ones we’re counting on … Those are the two we want. We’ll worry about the Troopers on Sunday.”