Giants edge Sultans, force deciding game for MJBL title

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This article was published 28/07/2024 (452 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s only right that the biggest series of the year, played by the two best teams, goes the distance.

The Elmwood Giants and Carillon Sultans have traded punches throughout the Manitoba Junior Baseball League championship, and one will deliver the knockout blow in the winner-take-all Game 5 at A.D. Penner Park in Steinbach on Monday (6 p.m. CT).

Facing the prospects of a loss in finals for the second year in a row, the Giants extended the best-of-five series with a 4-1 triumph in Game 4 at Koskie Field on Sunday.

“That was big. That was one of my biggest games ever, in 15 years,” said Giants head coach Ed Kulyk. “I made a lineup and those nine went out and Colson Smith pitched an amazing game, and Bennett Freiter behind the dish called an amazing game. Dylan Duguay with a big home run.

“Our seniors have been there. There’s no panic in the dugout and one error, one base hit, can turn the game around and it showed today. A couple of base hits and great defence and here we are.”

The Sultans ended the regular season as the league’s top team with a 24-6 record and the Giants were a close second at 23-8.

Carillon is seeking its first MJBL title in 12 years while the Giants look to return to the top of the mountain for the sixth time in the last seven years.

After winning Game 1 in Steinbach 6-5, the Giants dropped consecutive games by a combined score of 23-11.

The Sultans’ bats had overwhelmed through most of the series, but Smith had other plans on this day as he pitched 5.1 rock-solid innings on the strength of six strikeouts while conceding just one run.

“We had one job to do, we had to bring it back to Carillon on Monday,” said Smith, who was pulled from the game once he reached 115 pitches due to the MJBL’s pitching rules.

“That’s a great hitting team, right? So, obviously, I was trying to shut them down but then there’s times I was pitching for contact to get it in play. Put all your heart in defence, you got that defence behind you, that’s who you trust the most.”

Carillon responded with their top pitcher Linden Meilleur, whose performance would’ve been enough for a win on many days. Meilleur’s final line will say he allowed four earned runs but that certainly doesn’t describe how well he tossed in six innings of work, which included six strikeouts.

The Giants led the entire game and it started with some great team play in the third inning.

After a leadoff double from Daniel Tokariwski, Brett Lucko laid down a perfect bunt to advance the runner and reach base himself. Two batters later, Riley Craw lifted a sacrifice fly to centre field that scored Tokariwski.

Duguay doubled the lead for the hosts in the next frame with a solo shot over the wall in left field.

The Sultans drew to within one in the fifth inning after a hard-hit ground ball from Luc Lagasse was mishandled by Elmwood and scored Michel Nadeau, who was pinch-running for Cody Gunderson.

It was the closest Carillon would get. The Giants added some insurance runs in the sixth inning as an errant throw to third base allowed Freiter to score from second. Nixon Carriere tripled on the next at-bat and was later brought home on a lined single by Josh Johnson.

All said and done, it was a gritty performance in a crucial spot from Elmwood. Their backs will be against the wall one more time, in what figures to be a raucous environment.

“It’s a baseball game,” said Kulyk. “I told the guys in our debrief, ‘Leave it all out on the field. If you can tell yourself win or lose tomorrow that (you) gave it all (you) got, that’s all I ask.’

“They’re young men growing up and maturing and it’s exciting and fun. Looking forward to it tomorrow.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

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Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter

Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.

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