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July 3, 2009

Pioneers guaranteed a spot in final with victory

NewsPress staff report

Stillwater Pioneers coach Tony Holt came into the Brad Holt Memorial American Legion Tournament with a bunch of unknowns.

Right now it’s the opponents that have the question marks.

The Pioneers won their third straight game in the tournament Friday, beating Okmulgee 9-7 in eight innings. The win guarantees the Pioneers a spot in Sunday’s championship game, likely against the Stillwater Majors legion team.

“I didn’t know what to expect coming into this tournament,” Holt said. “But I did know that our kids would play hard and play the game the right way.”

The Pioneers (15-9) led 7-5 going to the bottom of the seventh inning but Okmulgee scored twice to force extra baseball.

The Pioneers responded quickly with two runs in the top half of the inning and held off Okmulgee for the win.

Frank Arena picked up the win in relief of starter Trevor Davenport. Arena entered the game in the seventh and got the side out in the eighth for the win.The Pioneers recorded 13 hits as a team. Arena, Shane Brinker and Alex Holt each had two for the team.

“There’s no pressure on us, that’s the way we look at it,” Holt said. “It’s the best competition we’ll play all year and our kids are just going out and having a lot of fun right now.”

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