Morris ends junior baseball career with championship for Giants

By: Devon Shewchuk Posted: 11:12 PM CDT Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019

Chanting and cheers could be heard across Whittier Park on Thursday night, following the conclusion of the Manitoba Junior Baseball League’s championship final.

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Chanting and cheers could be heard across Whittier Park on Thursday night, following the conclusion of the Manitoba Junior Baseball League’s championship final.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/08/2019 (2280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Chanting and cheers could be heard across Whittier Park on Thursday night, following the conclusion of the Manitoba Junior Baseball League’s championship final.

It was a nail-biting finish, but the Elmwood Giants walked away with a 9-7 win over the St. Boniface Legionaires, claiming their fourth league victory in six years.

Rhys Morris, a senior player on the Giants, was one of the first to hoist the team’s new trophy. For Morris, it was a great way to cap off his fourth and final year with the team.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
St Boniface baserunner Kyle Becker slams his head into the gravel at second base in a three-way collision with Elmwood’s Owen Harms (top) and Zach Delaquis. — PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS St Boniface baserunner Kyle Becker slams his head into the gravel at second base in a three-way collision with Elmwood’s Owen Harms (top) and Zach Delaquis.

“It’s hard to put it into words honestly. Boys had a good year this year. We did all the little things right today, couple of tough breaks but we battled through and got the job done,” he said following Thursday night’s game.

The Giants got off to an early lead, scoring three runs in the top of the second. The Giants’ Garret Graham got things going with a hit to left field to bring in the first run of the game.

All play paused in the bottom of the third, in a scary moment for Legionaires player Kyle Becker.

When a Giants outfielder tried to throw Becker out at second, both the Giants shortstop and the second baseman reached for the ball, not seeing each other. Shortstop Owen Harms tripped over second baseman Zach Delaquis and barrelled into the head of a sliding Becker.

It was an unintentional collision, but the speed at which it happened knocked Becker down to the ground, it took a while for him to regain his bearings.

With Elmwood ahead 2-1 in the best-of-five series, it was a do-or-die game for St. Boniface.

St. Boniface had bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, but were only able to score one run.

In the bottom of the ninth, they rallied hard, driving in three runs, but it just wasn’t enough to catch the Giants.

Giants’ coach Ed Kulyk was overcome with emotion following Thursday’s win. He didn’t know what to expect heading into this season, after losing multiple key seniors from last year’s championship team.

“Holy smokes. I have every emotion you can think of. We were in a rebuild this year. To see these kids who were scrappy and who fought to the last inning, to see this right now is just perfect.

“It’s pretty cool.”

devon.shewchuk@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @devonshewchuk