Rotation reinforcements arriving for Sultans in MJBL post-season

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This article was published 13/07/2023 (715 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This story was published in the July 13 print edition of The Carillon

The Carillon Sultans are getting a big boost to their pitching staff for the Manitoba Junior Baseball League (MJBL) playoffs.

Linden Meilleur, who was named the league’s best left-handed pitcher of the year in 2022, has returned to the team, just in time for the playoffs. Meilleur stopped playing baseball this season, but after pitching a game for the senior Carillon squad, signed up for the junior team, just in time to make the playoff roster.

“We got his five games in so he’s eligible,” Sultans manager Rick Penner said.

“We were okay with our depth for sure, but you can’t pass up the top lefty of the year. You have to take that on, and it just makes us stronger.”

The Sultans are facing the Winnipeg South Wolves in the first round of the MJBL playoffs, which started with game one July 12, completed after press time.

The three game series is set to continue with a game in Winnipeg July 13 and a potential game three at A.D. Penner July 14.

Penner said he liked how his team has performed this season after an abbreviated 12-0 victory over the Pembina Valley Orioles July 7.

“We’ve had a good year,” he said.

“A little bit of a slow start, but after that, we’ve played well, guys have played well. We’ve beaten every team in this league.”

With a slight drop off from the perennial champion Elmwood Giants, the MJBL has featured a competitive, entertaining race to the finish for playoff positioning. While Elmwood finished in the top spot once again, both Carillon and the St James A’s were only a single game off the pace.

Adding to that entertainment has been a lucky weather season for Carillon, as no regular season game was postponed due to rain. Last year nearly a dozen Carillon games were postponed due to rain, heat, or wet fields.

“It’s been a blast,” Penner said.

“We know every night we’re in it, so it’s fun. It’s just been a good year all around.”

With the Sultans finishing third in the standings, they’ll be facing the sixth-ranked Wolves. The Wolves finished witha 10-14 record, as three teams tied for fifth in the MJBL this season. Two of those victories came against Carillon, as Winnipeg South swept a double-header June 15 to put Carillon out of first-place contention.

“They’ve got lots of really good ball players,” Penner said.

“We know that we’re going to have to swing the bat well… I think we can win this series, but we cannot take it for granted.”

A three game series could force Penner to get aggressive with his rotation, with a single game victory putting the team halfway to advancing to the semi-finals.

“We’ve got three really good starters, and a couple good guys out of the (bull)pen,” he said.

“We’re pretty comfortable with who we’ve got to roll with.”

Other matchups in the MJBL quarterfinals include Elmwood against basement-dwelling Pembina Valley, St James taking on the Altona Bisons and St Boniface against the Interlake Blue Jays.

“Every team (in the MJBL) is able to pull a pretty solid lineup,” Penner said.

“We have to come after it every game in that sense. Hopefully we have enough depth on the pitching side to be there no matter what happens.”

While Penner re-iterated he isn’t looking too far ahead, he knows if the team advances, they’ll be in tough. Cody Gunderson, Cedric Lagasse and Chris Tetreault are all set to miss a potential second-round series due to playing for Team Manitoba at the North American Indigenous Games in Halifax.

Eight of Team Manitoba’s players are from the Eastman region, with the U18 and junior teams both sending a solid contingent.