Junior Carillon Sultans top MJBL standings

Despite games to be played after press time July 10, a weekend split with the Pembina Valley Orioles was just good enough for the Carillon Sultans to clinch a first-place finish in the Manitoba Junior Baseball League (MJBL).

The Sultans had an 18-5 record, one game up on the Elmwood Giants, but owned the tiebreaker against the perennial champions thanks to a double-header sweep in late-June action.

The finish is a good sign for a group looking to bring back their first MJBL championship since 2012. The team fell in the semis last season to eventual champion St Boniface, with many of their players unavailable due to representing Manitoba at the North American Indigenous Games.

“To keep that thing rolling with virtually the same group of guys has been awesome,” team manager Rick Penner said.

“We’re really pumped about how things have taken place this year.”

Finishing first won’t be much of a reward for the Sultans, as they’ll likely be facing the bottom-seeded Altona Bisons in the quarterfinals. The Bisons may have had a rough season, but boast two of the top pitchers in the league in Dominion City’s Maddox Mateychuk and Altona’s Ethan Giesbrecht.

Giesbrecht hasn’t been available to pitch until late this season, which means the Bisons are a dangerous opponent, especially in an abbreviated three-game series.

“I think we just have to be patient and try and wait them out,” Penner said.

“Obviously if we see a few fastballs early in the count we’re going to have to get aggressive and get after it, but at the same time, make them work team with not as many easy innings… I think we can out-last them.”

The Sultans only have a plus-38 run difference, well behind second place Elmwood and two behind third-place Interlake. They do boast one of the best offenses in the league, with over 140 runs scored. Carillon also has the best road record in the league.

“I think a lot of our games have been pretty close games, we’ve won a quite a few in the late innings,” Penner said.

“We get going with hot bats with an early lead. (We’re) steady and consistent so by the time the night’s over, the stat sheet looks pretty good.”

The team’s offensive potential was on full display against Winnipeg South in an 11-6 victory in Steinbach July 5. Carillon clinched the game in the top of the seventh, scoring four runs. The spell of strong play was started from the bottom of the order, as players drew walks to get on base, putting runners in scoring position for the top of the order to bring home.

“I think the guys kind of feel it when a few things start to roll,” Penner said.

“They just get a little sharper, a little more focused and they piggy-back off it and we work out that big inning that really gets us going.”

Like most teams, Penner said he hoped he would have access to a couple more arms for a playoff run, but is hoping to be able to call up some U18 talent. The Carillon U18 AAA team boasts an outstanding pitching staff, as a pair of pitchers threw a one-hitter and no-hitter this weekend (Michael Lindsay and Kaden Coldwell).

“Our guys have all done pretty well and been pretty steady throughout the year,” Penner said.

“We don’t have as deep a line-up as we did last year pitching-wise. We’re going to have to be smart and creative. We’re okay with the guys we have, we just have to put together some efficient innings.”

The quarterfinals in the MJBL are set to begin on July 12, with Carillon travelling to the game. The next two games will be in Steinbach July 14, as the teams play a double-header if needed to close out the series.