Powell posted a strong weekend but came up just short in the BWW championship game in Billings on Sunday. The Pioneers dominated the opposition starting on Thursday — defeating Gillette ‘A’ 5-2; Pocatello, Idaho 11-1; Helena, Montana 9-1 and the Cheyenne Hawks 9-2 before losing to the Billings Cardinals 4-2 on Sunday.

POWELL 5, GILLETTE 2

The weekend kicked off early on Thursday with the Pioneers (17-13) starting off against the Rustlers (9-20).

Gillette got on the board first in the top of the second after loading the bases with one out and bringing in a runner on a sac fly.

Jacob Gibson escaped without any more damage and the Pioneers quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning.

Trey Stenerson singled and stole second during Aidan Wantulok’s at bat before being driven in by Wantulok on a single to tie it 1-1.

Powell was unable to find any more in the inning, but took the lead in the bottom of the third.

An error allowed Jhett Schwahn to get on base with two outs, and a double by Cade Queen brought Schwahn in to make it 2-1.

Powell extended its lead in the bottom of the fourth. Ethan Welch hit a single to get on with two outs, and advanced to second on a passed ball during Aiden Greenwald’s at bat.

Greenwald singled to bring in Welch, but Powell was not done in the fourth.

Greenwald moved to second after a passed ball during Ryan Cordes’ at bat, and advanced after a Cordes single.

A balk during Gibson’s at bat scored Greenwald and gave Powell a 4-1 lead after the fourth inning.

The Pioneers got their final run in the fifth, after Queen doubled to get on with one out — setting up a single by Wantulok to drive him in and make it 5-1.

Dalton Worstell replaced Gibson in the top of the seventh, with one run coming in on an error to give Powell the 5-2 win.

“He [Gibson] had a little bit of trouble locating at the beginning but he was just himself,” manager Jason Borders said. “He threw really well.”

Wantulok led Powell by going 2-3 at the plate with two RBIs while Queen and Greenwald each drove in a run.

Gibson gave up six hits and one earned through his six innings on the mound.

POWELL 11, POCATELLO 1

The second game on Thursday matched up Powell with an unfamiliar opponent, playing Pocatello to round out the first day of action.

Brock Johnson got on to lead off the bottom half of the first with a single, with Queen joining him to put two on with one out.

Wantulok again got the offense going, driving in the pair to make it 2-0 after the first inning.

Greenwald got on through an error to lead off the second and was joined by Cole Fauskee after a single to put two on with no outs.

Welch hit a sac bunt to advance the runners, and Schwahn hit a single to bring in Greenwald and make it 3-0 after two.

Johnson continued to dominate on the mound, striking out five of the first nine batters and remaining perfect after the third inning.

Powell extended its lead, with two walks leading off the bottom half to put Stenerson and Wantulok on.

Worstell singled to bring in Stenerson before Greenwald hit a sac bunt to advance both Wantulok and Worstell.

Fauskee singled to bring in Wantulok and make it 5-0 before Welch was walked to load the bases with one out.

Johnson was walked to bring in a run, Schwahn singled to bring in another and make it 7-0.

Queen doubled to bring in Welch and Johnson, but Schwahn was out advancing to third to give Powell two outs.

Stenerson doubled to bring in Queen, ending Powell’s scoring route with a 10-0 lead after three.

The Rebels finally got on the board in the fourth, breaking up the no hitter and scoring a run to make it 10-1.

Powell was able to end the game in the fifth, after a Stenerson triple led off and a single by Wantulok brought him in to enact the 10-run rule up 11-1.

“He [Wantulok] was on a tear,” Borders said.

Johnson finished with 10 strikeouts on the mound while only giving up one earned on three hits with no walks.

Wantulok again led the scoring going 2-2 with three RBIs, just ahead of Schwahn and Queen with two RBIs each while Johnson, Stenerson, Worstell and Fauskee all drove in a run.

POWELL 9, HELENA 1

After the two victories Thursday, Powell needed one more to top its group, matching up with Helena on Friday.

Johnson hit a single to lead off, before Schwahn was hit by a pitch and Queen was walked to load the bases with no outs.

Stenerson hit a sac fly to bring in Johnson and make it 1-0.

Wantulok grounded into an error that scored Schwahn, but eventually saw Queen out at second after Powell extended the lead to 2-0.

In the second Cordes singled to get on with two outs, advancing to second on a passed ball during Johnson’s at bat.

Johnson drove him in and extended the lead to 3-0.

Schwahn was again hit by a pitch, before an error on a Queen hit scored Johnson and made it 4-0.

Powell extended the lead in the third inning, after Wantulok got on with a single and advanced on a ground out by Worstell.

Wantulok was driven in on an error during Welch’s at bat to make it 5-0 after three innings.

Queen was dominant on the mound, allowing only one walk and error with no hits through four innings.

Powell continued to excel at the plate behind Queen’s play — extending the lead after Johnson walked and stole second during Schwahn’s at bat to get in scoring position.

Schwahn brought him in to make it 6-0, before Wantulok eventually brought in Schwahn on a double to make it 7-0 after four innings.

Powell’s lead grew in the fifth, with a double by Cordes getting him in scoring position and eventually being driven in by Johnson to make it 8-0.

Helena got on the board in the sixth, getting on with a walk and a wild pitch that led to two stolen bases to put a runner on third with no outs.

Another runner was walked with one out, and a ground out scored the runner on third to make it 8-1 but the no-hitter remained intact.

Queen got out of the inning — still not allowing a hit through six.

Stenerson tripled to lead off the bottom half, and Wantulok brought him in on a single to make it 9-1 and reach the eight run rule after six innings in tournament play.

Queen finished with eight strikeouts while walking three batters in the no hitter, giving up one earned.

“He [Queen] threw really awesome,” Borders said.

Johnson finished 3-3 with two RBIs alongside Wantulok who went 3-4 with two RBIs. Schwahn and Stenerson each got an RBI.

POWELL 9, CHEYENNE 2

After winning their pool on Friday the Pioneers got a matchup with a familiar yet unfamiliar opponent, the Cheyenne Hawks (12-13).

The Hawks are normally in ‘A’ but opted to play up in ‘AA’ this year after another team was needed to fill in for Evanston who dropped down to ‘A’ and gave Cheyenne two ‘AA’ teams.

Powell again got things started early, after Johnson walked and stole all the way to third on a wild pitch and Schwahn was walked to give the Pioneers runners on the corners.

Queen singled to bring in Johnson and make it 1-0.

Stenerson was walked to load the bases, but the Pioneers were unable to score anymore despite not having any outs.

Powell extended its lead in the second, after Johnson got on through a single and stole second during Schwahn’s at bat before he was driven in on a single to make it 2-0.

Greenwald continued to excel on the mound, allowing Powell to grow its lead in the bottom of the third.

Stenerson hit a single to lead off, but was caught stealing second before Cordes singled.

Cordes stole second and advanced to third after a Worstell single, and eventually scored on a Fauskee single.

Worstell had advanced to second on a steal during Fauskee’s at bat and advanced to third, before scoring on a wild pitch during Gibson’s at bat to make it 4-0.

Gibson grounded out before the Pioneers gained momentum again.

Welch walked and Johnson was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Schwahn was hit by a pitch to bring in one and Queen hit a single that brought in one, and a subsequent error brought in another to make it 7-0 after three.

Cheyenne got on the board in the fifth after a triple led off, eventually scoring one and making it 7-1.

A home run in the sixth got the Hawks another and cut the lead to 7-2.

Powell restored the seven run lead in the bottom half of the sixth, after a Queen double followed by a Stenerson double made it 8-2.

Cordes was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners and Worstell hit a fly ball that led to an error and brought in another to make it 9-2.

Neither team found any more offense, and Powell ended with the 9-2 victory.

Greenwald finished by giving up two earned with five strikeouts on seven hits.

“We talk about pitching to contact a lot,” Borders said. “We are playing pretty good defense right now so we can trust them. If you pitch with that mentality then it’s a lot easier.”

Queen finished 4-4 with three RBIs, Schwahn finished with two RBIs while Stenerson and Fauskee each had one.

BILLINGS 4, POWELL 2

The victory Saturday meant the Pioneers advanced to the championship game, matching up with the Billings Cardinals for the fourth time this season.

All three of the previous meetings between the two teams had been one run games, with Powell looking to take the season series 3-1.

Neither team found offense early on, with the first baserunners not reaching until the third inning.

Powell struck first, with Greenwald reaching on an error and advancing on a sac bunt by Gibson.

Welch reached on a dropped third strike to advance Greenwald, who scored on a Johnson single to make it 1-0.

Schwahn was hit by a pitch, and Stenerson grounded into a fielder’s choice that made it 2-0 after three.

Billings responded in the fifth with a pair of runs to tie it 2-2.

The Cardinals carried that momentum into the sixth and added two more to make it 4-2.

“That game could have gone either way,” Borders said. “Both pitchers threw well. It’s baseball, sometimes you come out on the wrong end of it.”

Powell was able to get runners on in the sixth and seventh, but couldn’t find an answer in the 4-2 loss.

Johnson and Stenerson finished with RBIs for the Pioneers.

CODY CONFERENCE AND HOME TOURNEY

After a couple of weeks away the Pioneers return home for a multitude of games this week, beginning on Wednesday.

Powell will take on Cody (15-13, 4-0 ‘A’ Northwest) at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to kick off the ‘A’ Northwest Quadrant action.

“They’ve been playing really good baseball,” Borders said of the Cubs. “I expect them to be Cody, we just have to go and match the effort they put out.”

The Pioneers then stay at home this weekend, hosting their annual Father’s Day tournament.

Powell will take on Lander (3-7 overall, 0-4 ‘A’ Northwest)  at 1:30 p.m. and Green River (8-11 overall, 2-0 ‘A’ Southwest) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday before turning around for a single game against the Billings Expos ‘AA’ at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The weekend wraps up against Laurel at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.