Carillon Sultans storm past Athletics to make MJBL finals

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This article was published 25/07/2024 (332 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Author’s note: This story was written to be published in the July 25 edition of The Carillon, with a press time of mid-day on July 24.

There must be something inside the friendly confines of A.D. Penner Park the Carillon Sultans love.

In three Manitoba Junior Baseball League (MJBL) playoff home games this year, the Sultans are a perfect 3-0 with a plus-24 run difference. Those games include two mercy-rule victories over the St James A’s, as the Sultans took their semi-final series 3-1.

“I think there’s a touch of added comfort level knowing we’re at home, in our park, in our dugout,” Carillon manager Rick Penner said.

A scheduled double-header July 21 wasn’t needed, as the Sultans took just four innings to plate 12 runs, dominating the A’s after winning game one in similar fashion 13-3.

A day after the victory, Penner said he was thankful the team took care of business in four games, so they could save pitchers for the final.

“Guys were being smart, being patient and taking good swings,” Penner said.

“It just opened up against a pitcher we hadn’t seen before and had a pretty good year. That worked out really well.”

It was a great outing for 17-year-old starter Kaden Coldwell, as the U18 player earned the start for Carillon and took full advantage in game four, allowing only three hits in five innings of work. Coldwell has also thrown a no-hitter for the U18 Sultans this year.

With the U18 AAA provincials this weekend as well, Carillon will probably not be able to lean on any U18 talent during the finals, although if the U18 team does well, a player or two may be available for a potential game five July 29.

The best pitching performance of the series may have come on the road, with Cedric Lagasse throwing a complete game in game three as Carillon squeezed out a 2-1 victory. Lagasse looked comfortable through six innings, but needed to fight off a St James rally in the bottom of the seventh.

With two on and nobody out, Lagasse struck out three of the next four batters, including two after a single put the tying run on third base.

The victory sets up a finals against the Elmwood Giants, who won the Canadian championships last season. Elmwood took out Interlake 3-2, dropping game one of their double-header July 21 before responding with a 10-2 win in game two.

“There’s a part of us that wanted to get back at Interlake, they had a good year against us, part of us wanted to beat Elmwood who is there every single year,” Penner said.

It should be a tightly contested series, as the teams finished first and second in the league standings. Carillon won one more game this year, although Elmwood boasted the best run difference in the league.

In the three regular season match-ups between the Giants and Sultans, Carillon won two, with the teams exchanging one-run wins in their first two meetings before Carillon won the second game of a back-to-back by two runs in mid-June.

Penner will have to rely on the team’s pitchers to have some solid starts to win this series, as the Sultans’ relief options are somewhat lacking.

“We need to play with confidence,” Penner said.

“Not that it’s going to happen every game, but (our pitchers) have given us a chance all year long. If they can continue to do that, then we have a chance against Elmwood. It’s going to be a tough series.”

Carillon have been fueled at home by strong fan support, which should give the team a boost as three of the five games in the championship series are inside A.D. Penner Park.

“The last couple games we’ve had some really big crowds out,” Penner said.

“It’s been fun to see and there’s lots of excitement at the park.”

The five-game championship series began July 24 in Steinbach, with the game finishing after press time. Game three is also scheduled for A.D. Penner July 26, with a potential game five July 29. The series was scheduled to finish before St Boniface, last year’s league champions, head to the national championships July 31.