It’s eight-man baseball, but the Powell Pioneers will take what they can get.

Eight-man baseball? Well, that’s not the whole story.

With the green light to begin practicing while COVID-19 restrictions are still in place, the  American Legion Baseball state organization has set some stipulations that teams must observe as they take the diamond.

The principal restriction concerns social distancing. During practices and team activities, no groups can involve more than nine people at any one time. The way Pioneers manager Joe Cates is applying the directive, it’s eight players and one coach.

It presents “a different” practice setting, admits Cates, who is beginning his fourth year with the Powell Legion baseball program and his third year as head coach..

Cates is fortunate to have a coaching staff of six — himself and five assistants — to cover the small group limits imposed by the coronavirus social distancing guidance. Helping Cates this year are Tyler England, Ryan Brown, Tyler Feller, Luke Washington and Ricky Cates.

Despite the limitation to small groups, Cates was pleased to finally gather players for the first practice of the year on Monday. Some 32 players are on the combined roster of Legion A, B, and C teams, and most of them were on the field Monday. They are excited to have bat and ball in their hands again and anxious to get started, Cates said.

The A, B and C teams are loosely organized by age. The A team is for 15- to 19-year-olds; the B team is made up of 13- to 17-year-olds; and the C team is for players 13 to 15.

The limit of nine persons together at any one time was not the only state directive influenced by the virus.

Another restriction that accompanies the opening of baseball activities revolves around hand sanitizer stations.

“Each coach carries a bottle of sanitizer,” Cates said. “When we rotate groups, we wash hands. Each kid is required to have batting gloves when he swings a bat, and each kid is required to have his own helmet.”

Baseballs are also sanitized. The baseballs are sanitized at the beginning of each practice, dumped in a bucket of sanitizer and wiped clean.

The first workout of the year Monday was a time for “knocking the rust off,” while getting used to the social distancing routine of spreading everybody out on two diamonds, Cates said. Players are rotating through the batting cages and playing catch to build up arm strength.

The coronavirus pandemic has completely altered the baseball season.

“Right now, there will be no games until more restrictions are lifted,” Cates said. “We are not allowed to be in any dugouts or confined spaces.”

Legion baseball is looking for new information on conduct of play by May 15.

“The schedule’s been done since January, but we’re going to have to completely redo it,” said Cates. “Our first game was supposed to be [Saturday] against the Belgrade, Montana, teams, but that’s off.”

In fact, out-of-state travel may not be part of this year’s schedule for the Pioneers.

“If we travel out-of-state at all, we have to quarantine for 14 days,” Cates said. “It may eliminate out-of-state games. We may be able to travel out of state later, but we don’t know yet.”

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has issued an executive order directing out-of-state travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days, but has said he expects to allow that order to end on Friday.

Cates welcomes quite a few returnees to the Legion program and has seven kids returning to the A group with experience. The manager said they will form the nucleus of what he expects will be a competitive team.