Sultans ready for first nationals appearence in 2 decades

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/08/2022 (1023 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

by CASSIDY DANKOCHIK

When the Carillon Sultans captured their first provincial AAA 18U title, none of the members of their second-ever provincial championship team had even been born.

It’s been 19 years since the Sultans have reached the mountaintop of minor baseball in Manitoba, and competed in 18U nationals. All that will change on Aug. 18, as the Sultans take the field for the opening games of the national championship in Fort McMurray.

“For a lot of these guys, this could be their only chance to go to a nationals,” head coach Jamieson Krentz said, noting how long it’s been since Carillon has made an appearance.

“I think when they get there, they’ll realize how special it is, and they’ll be happy to be there.”

The Sultans will be a little shorthanded heading into the tournament, having star catcher Cody Gunderson unavailable as he begins his college baseball career.

With that in mind, Carillon has picked up some backup from across Manitoba. With Gunderson unavailable, Kaden Rozdeba (Midwest) will add depth to the catcher position alongside full-time Sultan Logan Deerborn. Carillon has also picked up two more pitchers, grabbing another Midwest player in Alex Klassen, and Bonivital’s Jack Lussier.

Teams from across the country have been divided into two pools for nationals. The Manitoba representative has two games on Aug. 18, then one game on Aug. 19 and one on Aug. 20.

“The schedule is actually pretty good for us,” Krentz said.

“We have our two game (day) early in the week.”

Krentz has been keeping busy crunching numbers, examining matchups and planning his pitching strategy. The pitch-count at nationals are slightly more strict on pitchers compared to provincials, as a player can only throw 105 pitches over two days. In Manitoba, if a pitcher throws under 41 pitches one day, they can throw the full 105 the next day.

“There’s no easy games (at nationals),” Krentz said.

“You have no idea what the other teams bring. Historically you know giants like B.C., Ontario and Quebec, they are generally are always very strong. Then you run into years where they might not be as good as Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia.”

To reach the semi-finals, the Sultans will need to finish in the top two of their group, with Krentz predicting a 3-1 record would get the Sultans into the semis.

“I think we have two games we have a really good chance of winning,” he said.

“Not to say we can’t beat the other teams, but it will be a little bit more challenging, and then it’s a matter of which one we want to go after. They’re not our first games of the tournament, so that’s nice. We should be able to see what they’ve done in a game or two.”

To track how the Sultans are doing, watch the Baseball Canada website, www.baseball.ca/?fd=champ&evt=18u.