Pioneers swept by Laurel in double header

With as young as the Powell Pioneers are this season, head coach Jason Borders said he expects his team to “take our lumps.”

Powell took quite a few to begin its campaign Saturday.

The visiting Laurel Dodgers erupted at the plate and pitched well enough to hold the Pioneer bats at bay in their 14-1, 14-3 doubleheader sweep through harsh winds and sub-40-degree temperatures at Ed Lynn Memorial Field in Powell.

“I think we’re just really, really young; we knew that going in,” Borders said.  “We found out [Saturday] just how young we are.

“[Laurel] is a tough, veteran team. They took advantage of a lot of mistakes we were making.”

Some of those mistakes included seven Pioneer errors between the two contests, leaving 14 of the Dodgers’ 28 runs unearned.

“We have a lot of room to grow, I saw good things, I saw a lot of good things,” Borders added. “It might seem weird to say that when we gave up 28 runs, but there are things we did that we might not do in a few weeks that will save us a lot of those runs.”

Laurel 14, Powell 1

Despite a gutsy effort from 19-year-old Cory Heny on the mound, Powell (0-2) committed five errors to help Laurel claim game one of the twin bill in five innings.

Heny went four innings, giving up 14 runs (three earned) on eight hits while striking out seven and walking five on 119 pitches. Laurel scored three runs in both the first and second innings before posting six to seal the game in the third.

Dawson Cortese paced Laurel thanks to a 4-for-4 performance at the plate with a double, two triples and six runs batted in.

Heny went 2 for 3, while Teagan Cordes’ single in the second drove in Tyler Feller for Powell’s lone run of the game. Ty Dearcorn attempted to come home as well, but was caught in a run down and tagged out by Laurel catcher Mason O’Donnell.

Jon Moore, one of two 15-year-olds on the Powell roster, pitched the fifth and induced three ground-ball outs that left Borders impressed.

“That’s what we need — guys eating up innings,” the coach said. “Cory, Grady (Sanders) and Matt (Brown) aren’t going to be able to pitch every game, so we need some of our younger guys to step up.”

Laurel 14, Powell 3

The Dodgers scored three runs in four of the five innings played en route to another five-inning victory to sweep the doubleheader.

Pioneers starter Ty Dearcorn lasted three innings, surrendering eight runs (six earned) on nine hits while walking one. His biggest mistake came in the second inning when Laurel’s Carson Hoke smacked a pitch over the left field fence for a two-run homer and a 5-0 lead.

The Dodgers added another home run when Daniel Stamper went deep with a runner on in the fifth to finish out the Laurel scoring.

In their final at-bat, the Pioneers got going for three runs in the fifth.

Cordes singled with one out before Carson Asher moved him to second with another single. After Heny walked to load the bases, Jackson Griffin was hit by a pitch to push Powell’s first run across.

Ezra Andreasen walked to plate another run before Tyler Feller drove in Powell’s final run on an RBI ground out. Asher had two of the Pioneers’ four hits.

While Powell’s offense was limited over the two games, Borders was happy to see some patience at the plate which produced 13 walks and three hit batsmen.

“That tells me guys were up there working counts and looking for their pitch,” Borders said. “We talk about having an approach at the plate ... that means you being in charge up there, not letting the pitcher be in charge of you.”

Powell is scheduled to travel to Sheridan this weekend, but Borders may be forced to cancel the trip due to injuries and some of his players’ track and field obligations with Powell High School. Third baseman Blaze Flores will be evaluated for a knee injury this week after suffering what appeared to be a hyperextension while playing defense in game two. Sanders (elbow) and Brown (back) are also dealing with nagging injuries.

“We just need to get healthy, and we’ll go back to work on Monday and try to get some things fixed,” Borders added. “We’ll take our lumps and learn from it and hopefully grow from it.”