Carillon pickups key to Elmwood’s national championship

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This article was published 10/08/2023 (673 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Elmwood Giants will have some thank you cards to send out to other baseball programs across the province.

The team picked up six players to bolster their bid for a national championship, and they certainly paid off, as the Manitoba team went undefeated, en route to a gold medal.

Two Carillon players made up the championship roster, and both proved critical to the team’s success, earning player of the game awards throughout the tournament.

Rylan Penner was the standout, as he got the nod to start the championship game against Quebec’s representative. The big right-hander from Blumenort was dominant, going all seven innings, only giving up five hits.

Penner saved his best inning for last, striking out two, before fielding a weak ground ball and throwing to first to win the game. He was also responsible for the final out of the semi-finals earlier in the day, shifting over to shortstop and catching a pop fly to eliminate Nova Scotia’s representative from contention by a tight 3-1 margin.

Penner normally plays second base when he’s not pitching.

“No words can explain this. It’s a great feeling,” he told the Winnipeg Free Press after the game.

“The arm was feeling good from the start. The first inning, I got into a little bit of trouble but found my way out of it, and then just put it on cruise after that. I was feeling good.”

Elmwood’s manager Ed Kulyk was in awe of Penner’s performance, especially after his great fielding performance earlier in the day. Penner was named the best defensive player in the tournament.

“I asked him, ‘Just empty the tank. Give us three or four innings…’” Kulyk said.

“Away he went and he was dominant.”

It was Manitoba’s first 22U club championship since 2010.

“It’s pretty cool, I’m kind of in a fog. It’s tough to remember what just happened, but it’s pretty cool,” Kulyk said.

“For these kids, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance and it may never happen again, so I’m just going to watch them enjoy it.”

Cody Gunderson, a catcher from St Malo, had a strong tournament as well, including one of the longest home runs in the tournament. Gunderson absolutely crushed a ball over the fence at Fines Fields in Stonewall, earning player of the game honours as Elmwood defeated the host Interlake Blue Jays in pool play.

Maddux Mateychuk, a pitcher from Dominion City, who plays for the Altona Bisons was also a pickup for the Elmwood Squad. He was solid, picking up wins as he pitched in games early in the tournament to ensure Elmwood got off to a strong start.

Waywayseecappo infielder Dawson Tanner was named tournament MVP, as he hit 0.500 throughout the tournament, including 10 RBIs. Three of those 10 runs came in the tournament final.

With files from Donald Stewart