Pioneers head to regionals with improved, more arms

Justin Hite — Stillwater NewsPress

It was all about slowing down and relaxing. On a mound of dirt no taller than two feet, Tyler Scribner just tries to relax. Relax and slow everything down.

He was fast and aggressive on the pitcher’s mound at Couch Park. After he slowed everything down, his pitching improved and he has blossomed into the Stillwater Pioneers’ No. 2 pitcher.

Stillwater’s-new found pitching depth is a main reason why the Pioneers head into today’s regional tournament game with Choctaw riding high and with a load of confidence. It’s confidence for both Stillwater and for Scribner himself.

“I definitely think there is a confidence issue,” Scribner said. “I didn’t go into the game intimidated, ever. I wasn’t scared, but confidence as far as trusting your pitchers and knowing where it’s going to go.”

Even though the Pioneers’ pitching staff hasn’t seen game action — coach Tony Holt said his staff are both rested and restless — they have shown significant progress this entire season. Progress that culminated during this year’s Stillwater Tournament, but it’s progression through his entire rotation that gives Holt hopes against Choctaw today at 4 p.m. in Tulsa and for the tournament beyond them.

“If we are going to win it, it’s going to be more Korbin Kenmore,” Holt said. “It’s going to be more than two or three guys. We’ll have to have four or five guys step up and that’s where your pitching depth is so key.”

Kenmore is the Pioneers’ ace and the club’s go-to-pitcher and will get the ball today as Stillwater hopes to extend its season every day.

“Everybody is starting to fall in line,” Scribner said. “I feel like we are a different team than when we started. It’s just about relaxing.”

It’s about relaxing and the rest of the staff falling in line behind Kenmore. Scribner, Chase Haines, Tyler Julkowski, Brian Todhunter, Kevin Royer, Matt Brown and Shaun Brinker have all improved during the last half of the season.

“Our depth is definitely going to be really important,” Kenmore said. “The guys are just going to have to step up and throw well.”

On pitcher in particular has stepped up into a role that many don’t want and only few thrive in. Brinker has stepped into the final two innings of the Stillwater rotation and become the Pioneers closer.

“He brings intensity every single time,” Scribner said. “The reason I feel that he closes is he has a closer’s mentality. He comes in for 100 percent intensity for every single pitch. You can always count on him to want to win.

“That’s definitely the difference between me and Shaun. I want to get in there and get relaxed and then start to work in my top speed, and he’s Turbo. He sprints in from the pen, throws as fast as he can and just strikes guys out. A high-paced mentality.”

Holt had tried Brinker in multiple pitching situations during the year. He spent a lot of time in right field this season, but also started a handful of games on the mound and came in for multiple long relief situations. But the boy who attends other Stillwater athletic events with eye black under his eyes has helped secure the Pioneers’ sixth and seventh innings,

“Sometimes you think about how crazy it is because there’s all the pressure in the seventh inning to close it out and get that win and not mess up,” Brinker said. “If you mess up then it’s all on you. … I use that pressure and it gets me pumped up. I just go out there and get it done.”

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