Giants make it five in a row

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This article was published 31/07/2022 (1188 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winning championships never gets old, even for the Elmwood Giants who just can’t let go of the province’s junior baseball crown.

Elmwood clinched its fifth-straight Manitoba Junior Baseball League (MJBL) title Saturday night at Koskie Field, defeating the St. James A’s 8-0. The Giants brought out the brooms in Game 3, completing the sweep for a historic fifth title in a row.

“It’s unreal, it really is,” said Giants manager Ed Kulyk. “Teams, people, the parents and other players, they don’t know how hard it is, because you’ve got a target on your back every game, every year.”

Elmwood broke a 0-0 deadlock when second baseman Chad Picton hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning. His teammate Riley Craw popped one up and got it to drop helping score another run for the Giants in the inning.

The now five-time defending champions saw their lead grow to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Shortstop Owen Harms got the party started, launching a deep shot that was good for an RBI triple. First baseman Adam Senden brought him home during the next at bat and the Giants scored another run to round out the frame.

“It’s so fun to see these kids have fun and working as hard as they are all year to get to this spot and here we are,” said Kulyk.

Elie Feierstein was the winning pitcher on the night. He struggled with his command at times during the evening, but remained poised to collect the win and gave up just five hits in the complete-game shutout effort.

“Elie has been lights-out and our most surprising, but hardest worker,” said Kulyk. “He’s a competitor just like everyone else and he knows if he’s in and around the strike zone, we have an opportunity to get outs.”

The Giants added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when outfielder Dylan Duguay hit a deep RBI single, making it 6-0. Elmwood pushed the lead to seven runs by stealing home and added an eighth run for extra insurance to cap off a surge in the sixth.

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“To do five years in a row is something unbelievable… the work these guys put in, this is just an amazing feeling and a team that’d go to war for anybody,” said Kulyk.

The Giants head out to Halifax this week for the under-22 men’s national championships from Aug. 4-7. They’ll represent the province at the event and have added a few other standout MJBL players for the tournament.

“We’ve got an opportunity to do something really cool this year and we’re gonna be down there competing and hopefully come home with a gold medal,” said Kulyk.

Gavin.Axelrod@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: Gavin77axe