Pioneers start 2-1 at NWCART

Posted 8/8/23

The Powell Pioneers have found success at the Northwest Class ‘A’ Regional Tournament (NWCART) in Havre, Montana, winning their first two games 2-1 and 4-3 before dropping a semifinal …

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Pioneers start 2-1 at NWCART

The Powell Pioneers have made a strong impression at the Northwest Class ‘A’ Regional Tournament, going 2-1 after their first three games and reaching the winners’ bracket semifinal on Sunday.

Photo courtesy Yancy Welch

Cole Fauskee slides to get back to first base during a game against Redmond Sunwest, Oregon, on Friday in Havre, Montana. Fauskee is tied for the team lead with two RBIs through the first three games and third on the team in batting average.

Photo courtesy Yancy Welch

Trevion Solberg got his first action of the season for the Pioneers A team in the rain delayed game against Havre on Saturday night, where Powell finished with a 4-3 victory over the hosts.

Photo courtesy Yancy Welch

The Pioneers visit on the mound during the Pioneer’s game against Service, Alaska on Sunday night. Powell lost the contest 8-4 to drop down to a loser out game on Monday afternoon.

Photo courtesy Yancy Welch

Brock Johnson slides safely back into first base after a pickoff attempt as assistant manager Cory Ostermiller looks on.

Photo courtesy Yancy Welch

Posted Tuesday, August 8, 2023 10:20 am

By Seth Romsa

The Powell Pioneers have found success at the Northwest Class ‘A’ Regional Tournament (NWCART) in Havre, Montana, winning their first two games 2-1 and 4-3 before dropping a semifinal game 8-4 on Sunday night to Service, Alaska, to cap a long weekend.

That loss dropped the Pioneers down to a matchup with Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, at 4 p.m. on Monday in a loser out contest.

That matchup was courtesy of the Pioneers already facing Redmond Sunwest, Oregon, in the first round of the tournament and Alaska having already faced Coeur d’Alene as the fourth day matchups did not match up teams that have previously played each other.

If Powell came out victorious Monday afternoon, then the Pioneers will play Tuesday (today) at noon against either Redmond Sunwest in a matchup to send the winner to the championship, or against Service in the championship with Powell needing to win two games to claim the title.

The Powell Tribune website and Facebook page will have an update at the conclusion of the Monday game and, if needed, Tuesday contests, and a full recap of all the games will be in Thursday’s edition of the Powell Tribune.

“We lost that undefeated game and we gotta work our way back,” manager Jason Borders said. “The experience here has been awesome.”

The Powell Pioneers held on for a 2-1 victory to open the tournament Friday over Sunwest Legion, Oregon.

Brock Johnson got the win on the mound with 12 strikeouts while Trey Stenerson and Dalton Worstell had the two RBIs for the Pioneers.

That victory earned Powell a spot in a quarterfinal matchup Saturday, but rain delays kept the Powell Pioneers from getting on the field until after 10 p.m. against the host Havre Northstars.

Powell used two runs in the third and fifth to take a 4-0 lead, and held off a late charge by the hosts to walk away with a 4-3 victory.

Jhett Schwahn, Cole Fauskee and Aiden Greenwald had RBIs for the Pioneers.

Jacob Gibson got the win on the mound and Worstell got the save over the final five outs.

Powell advanced in the winners’ bracket to the semifinal on Sunday night at 7 p.m., taking on Service, Alaska.

A difficult matchup Sunday night saw the Powell Pioneers fall to the Alaska state champs, dropping the winners’ bracket semifinal 8-4 in a contest dominated early by the Alaskans.

“That rain delay really killed us but it’s been pretty cool,” Borders said. “You get to play teams you’ve never played before and the competition is really good.”

Alaska scored three in the first inning and scored in each of the first four innings to build an 8-0 lead, and the Panthers needed an answer late.

Powell got four runs in the top of the seventh through a Cade Queen single and a series of walks with the bases loaded to cut the lead in half before a final out with the bases loaded ended the contest 8-4.