Carillon bats come alive to clinch MJBL title

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This article was published 02/08/2024 (229 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There must be something about A.D. Penner Park the Carillon Sultans love. The Sultans made the Elmwood Giants look like just another team in a winner-takes-all game five of the Manitoba Junior Baseball League (MJBL) championships July 29, winning 13-3 via mercy-rule walk-off in the bottom of the sixth inning.

It was Carillon’s fourth mercy-rule victory of the playoffs, with three coming inside A.D. Penner and afterwords the team hoisted the Daryl Steen Trophy for the first time since 2012.

Sultans manager Rick Penner said after the game the victory was appropriate for a team which has played so much ball together through the years.

“These guys were so ready today,” Penner said.

“We were loose, we had it figured out, and we were ready to go… We like playing in our park — the crowd was unbelievable — and we just came out swinging and nobody ever doubted.”

There was a great fan turnout for the game, which was moved up to 6 p.m. to avoid any chance the game would be halted due to darkness.

Carillon fans didn’t have much to cheer for after the first inning, with Elmwood’s Josh Johnson crushing a three-run homer, before the Sultans stranded two runners after an inning-ending double play in the bottom half.

Despite a terrible outing with runners in scoring position the day before in a game four loss, Penner was confident the Sultans would come back.

“I was not super stressed today,” Penner said.

“My heart-rate’s always up high at the start of the games when it’s just getting going, but it wasn’t there today. If that was the fifth inning, it might have changed… Obviously it was disappointing to get a start like that, but I believed in our guys for sure.”

Carillon’s strength all year came from the top of the line-up, boasting bonafide college stars, pushing other excellent hitters down in the order to make one of the most dangerous line-ups the team has ever fielded.

“That top of the line-up was just so good again and again and again,” Penner said.

“We put so much pressure on other teams and other pitchers… Just intimidating baseball out of the batter’s box and it was so good to see.”

Both of Elmwood’s victories in the series came in games started by Colson Smith. While the South Suburban College player had a great outing in game four of the finals, he needed to be relieved by game five starter Riley Craw to finish a must-win game for the Giants after pitching over 110 times in the game.

“We used (Craw) to close (Sunday) so he didn’t have his A-plus stuff,” Giants manager Ed Kylyk told the Winnipeg Free Press after the game.

“But this Carillon team can hit one through nine… Anybody in the lineup can barrel the ball and they showed it today with 16 hits.”

The bottom of the Sultans order showed just how dangerous they could be in game five, with number eight hitter Ryan Powers and number nine hitter Mason Hartung combining to go 5/7 with seven RBIs. Hartung hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the game out of reach, in one of the longer home runs in park history.

It was Hartung’s second MJBL homer, after not hitting one in two years until game five. He admitted he had “a bit of a rough year at the plate,” but that didn’t stop him from staying positive and crushing a ball over the fence.

Penner said despite those struggles Hartung has kept a great attitude and was delighted to see the right-fielder shine.

“It took me a second to find it in the air, but once I saw it I knew pretty good it was going,” Hartung said.

“It feels amazing… It got the guys going and we didn’t stop from there.”

Not only did Hartung knock home a grand slam, he also scored the winning run, advancing from third on a Brady Papineau sacrifice fly to clinch the mercy-rule victory. The throw was slightly off-line, meaning he could trot home without needing to beat the tag.

“It’s a long 90 feet, that was,” Hartung said, laughing and admitting his base-running has slowed over the past couple years.

“Just making sure I didn’t leave before he caught it, making sure I got there and actually stepped on the plate. The chaos that ensued was amazing.”

Cedric Lagasse got the start for Carillon, making his third appearance on the mound in the series after coming on in relief in game one, and picking up the win in game two as a starter. With a short rotation, Penner relied on just a few arms to get through multiple games, with Lagasse a key part of the team’s finals strategy.

“When I went to school in the States, I would relieve every game,” Lagasse said.

“They need me to relieve, I’ll relieve. They need me to start, I’ll start.”

His 4-0 record, 2.40 ERA and role as a middle infielder when he wasn’t on the mound earned Lagasse playoff MVP honours.

“The boys never got down and they just stayed positive, and that kept me going,” Lagasse said.

“They held it down. (I) always have trust in my team… I haven’t seen a junior team better than this one.”

Elmwood and Carillon’s MJBL season may be over, but the teams will still need to play each other as both will be at the Western Canadian Championships, hosted at Koskie Field in Winnipeg Aug. 9-11.

“It might be a re-match there, who knows,” Penner said.

“We’re gonna go at it, have some fun and play some teams we haven’t seen, just enjoy the weekend.”

St Boniface is playing at the Canadian Championships this week, representing the province as last year’s league champions.

For a game-by-game recap and more photos from the finals, check out page B2 of The Carillon.

The MJBL championship trophy was re-named in honour of Daryl Steen in 2001. Steen was an athletic therapist who attended the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and worked as a trainer and coach for multiple baseball and softball teams in Manitoba through the years. He served a long term as the MJBL’s president and was inducted into the Baseball Manitoba Honour Society in 1995.

From 1977-2000, the MJBL’s championship trophy was named in honour of Curly Haas. Haas was born in 1909 and began his playing career with the Columbus Club, a Winnipeg semi-pro team. After moving to Oregon he returned to Manitoba and helped found the Elmwood Giants, serving as the team’s manager for their first championship in 1948. He also worked on the organizing committee for the 1967 Pan-Am Games.

With files from Taylor Allen