Canada Day stumble doesn’t cost Sultans in pennant race

The Carillon Sultans added some unnecessary drama to the end of the Manitoba Junior Baseball season, but managed to claim first place as the regular season closed July 6.

The Sultans dropped both games of a back-to-back against Pembina Valley July 1, giving a glimmer of hope to the teams chasing them for first place.

A 11-1 mercy rule victory at A.D. Penner Park over the Interlake Blue Jays July 3 officially locked up a first place finish and quarterfinal bye for the Sultans, which were considered the pre-season favourites after winning back-to-back MJBL championships and returning most of their line-up.

Anders Meilleur pitched a complete game in the win, as Cody Gunderson knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the fifth.

Head coach Don Meilleur said he was happy to lock up first place on Friday so a double-header against Elmwood on Sunday meant nothing for Carillon in the standings. The two teams would end up splitting that double-header.

“It’s always good games against Elmwood, (we’re) happy that we’ve looked after our business, now they can battle for second place,” coach Meilleur said.

The Sultans boast one of the deepest pitching staffs not only across the MJBL this season, but across the recent history of the league. Meilleur has so many high quality arms it’s been a struggle to get them all competitive innings this season. Six players have pitched in more than 12 inning for the Sultans this season, with Cedric Lagasse leading the team with 42.1.

Nesbitt’s Connor Martin, regarded as one of the top pitchers in Manitoba, only threw nine regular season innings for Carillon.

“When you look at other teams in the league, they’ve got one or two guys that they are very comfortable throwing on the mound, and you look at our guys and I probably have eight or nine guys I’m very, very comfortable throwing on the mound,” Meilleur said.

“In the playoffs, hopefully that will separate us from the other teams.”

The team is still deciding what the roster will look like when they head to nationals later this year. The team earned the right to represent Manitoba by winning last year’s MJBL championship and are allowed to add players to their roster from across the league.

Normally that means adding a couple extra pitchers, but with such a deep and flexible staff, the Sultans will be heading to Windsor with a smaller contingent of players.

“Last year we took 16, but this year because all of our guys play a position and can throw, and they’re good on the sticks, we’re not sure if we want to bring 16 again,” Meilleur said.

“Guys will be sitting on the bench… I’m comfortable with (Sultans players) being on the mound even if it’s a national championship.”

The standings were still in flux as of July 6, with a key game between Elmwood and St Boniface having implications for all three first-round series. An Elmwood win locked up second place and set up series across the league.

The MJBL plays three-game quarterfinals, with all seven teams making the playoffs. The semi-finals and finals are five games each, with the Sultans locking up home field advantage due to their first place finish.

Elmwood will play last-place Altona, St Boniface will take on Winnipeg South and Pembina Valley will be playing Interlake. The standings finished the exact same last season.

Carillon will be charging fans for playoff games at A.D. Penner Park, with fans getting access with the purchase of one of their 5$ fundraising raffle tickets to watch the game.