Giants earn redemption at WCBA championship

Elmwood

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This article was published 21/08/2024 (711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winning the Western Canadian Baseball Association U22 championship was one pinch-hit the Elmwood Giants won’t soon forget. The Giants captured the trophy by defeating the arch-rival Carillon Sultans 3-1 at Koskie Field on Aug. 11.

The win capped two hectic weeks, beginning with the Giants assuming last-minute hosting duties after the original hosts dropped out. Volunteers were recruited, sponsorships sold, and hotels booked. For manager Ed Kulyk, it meant 18 hours a day at the diamond, watering lawns, picking up garbage and managing five games over three days.

“We needed a field play to play on that had lights,” Kulyk said. “We rolled with it, and it went fantastic.”

The Giants opened with a 10-7 win over the Diefenbaker Ducks from Dinskmore, Sask. Up 5-0 after five innings, Elmwood surrendered seven in the top of the sixth but responded with a five-spot to seal the win.

Next were two wins, 11-1 over the Alberta champion Castor Raiders and 8-0 over the Prince Albert Royals. Elie Feierstein tossed a no-hitter with nine strikeouts and only one walk against the Royals to begin a memorable weekend.

“There’s no better way I could have scripted my final game pitching in the juniors,” Feierstein admitted. “It’s always been a dream of mine to throw a no-hitter, and I’ve been close a couple of times but never completed it.”

Feierstein admitted to some nerves in that final inning, both for the no-no and the end of his junior baseball career.

“It’s a game I will forever remember,” Feierstein said. “It would never have happened without everyone else behind me in the field. To throw a no-hitter is more than just pitching; it’s all the defensive plays being made behind me.”

That win set up a round-robin finale that was a rematch of the Manitoba Junior Baseball League final, which the Giants lost to the Sultans in the full five games in July. Kulyk started 17-year-old Logan Enns, who went the distance on a four-hitter, allowing only an unearned run. Unfortunately, that was enough, as the Sultans took a 1-0 victory.

The Giants got a chance at redemption as they faced the Sultans again for the trophy. The game was a beauty, with Ethan Giesbrecht pitching for the Giants against Matt Thompson.

Carillon drew first blood on an RBI grounder in the bottom of the first. That 1-0 score held until the top of the fourth when the Giants scored three. Giesbrecht went the full seven innings without yielding further damage, and the Giants celebrated another championship.

“We battled and battled; it was a quick seven-inning game,” Kulyk said. “To hold Carillon to only four hits is something.”

The Giants earned a spot in the championships because they agreed to host. The other four teams won their respective leagues, with the fifth spot going to the host team. Two weeks of hard work were rewarded with a championship.

Kulyk relished the opportunity to give his team a chance to erase the bitter MJBL final loss to the Sultans. He’s especially happy for retiring veterans Carson Woytowich, Riley Craw, Tyler Smith and Feierstein.

“Finishing my junior career with a trophy is the best way it could have ended,” Feierstein admitted. “The night before, I could only think about winning westerns to finish the trifecta (MJBL, nationals, westerns). I can now say I’ve won everything there is to win for junior.”