Sultans cement dynasty

For the third consecutive season, the Carillon Sultans have lifted the Darryl Steen Trophy as champions of the Manitoba Junior Baseball League.

The Sultans dominated the Elmwood Giants in the final, winning all three games in abbreviated fashion with mercy rule victories to claim the best-of-five series, including the 12-2 series clincher in Steinbach at A.D. Penner Park on July 28.

All nine Carillon players in the line-up recorded at least one hit, with lead-off hitter Joe Plett knocking in a two-run single to give the Sultans a 10-run advantage in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“We wanted to make sure we finish tonight and everyone came through and did what they had to do,” head coach Don Meilleur said.

“(Plett) is one of the most consistent players I’ve coached in my life. Even though he struggled early I knew he was going to find it. There was not a better guy I’d want at the plate to finish that game.”

Jackson Penner was given the go ahead to try for the win by third base coach Rylan Penner, and an off-line throw set off the celebrations, with Sultans players mobbing Plett between second and third base.

“I was excited to see him go, I thought it was going to be bang/bang no matter what and as soon as that ball slipped away I darted my eyes to the dugout and let the fun begin,” Plett said.

“It’s a perfect squad… It’s intimidating going up first knowing who is coming up behind me. I can’t be the first out.”

On the mound, Ryan Powers had a challenging outing, consistently needing to pitch around runners in scoring position with one or no outs.

“(Powers) made good pitches when he had to, and that’s the true testament of a guy who is a battler,” Meilleur said.

“I wouldn’t want anybody on the mound other than him out there because I knew he was going to come through for us.”

He managed to keep runs off the board until the sixth inning, where he was spelled by Carson Janzen as both teams were conservative with their pitchers to keep arms ready for a potential game five on Friday.

“It wasn’t my prettiest start, but it got the job done,” Powers said with a chuckle after the game praising the defence behind him in the win. “I love these guys.”

He finished with eight strikeouts with several coming in high leverage moments.

“I feel like I established all my pitches early,” Powers said when asked about his two-strike approach in the finals.

“When you do that early in the game, you get them guessing the whole time. I was confident to throw any pitch in any situation.”

Cedric Lagasse was named playoff Most Valuable Player for the third consecutive year. He only needed to start one game in the 2026 series against Elmwood, ending his career a perfect 5-0 in the MJBL finals.

“I feel amazing,” Lagasse said.

“Every game I’d go in the dugout and see the line-up and be like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.’ There’s a guy in each spot. You don’t want to face any guy in our line-up. In the field, our defence was amazing all year… That’s why I threw well. I knew I had defense behind me every game.”

It was his performances in the semifinal where he likely won the award this year, pitching a pair of complete game shutouts while only allowing three hits over 13 innings of work against St Boniface.

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“I think it was one of the best starts of my life,” Lagasse said, remembering game one.

“I got the big one, and that’s what matters,” he continued, laughing. “We have the best line-up in Manitoba. Why can’t we win nationals?”

The Sultans will represent Manitoba at the upcoming Baseball Canada 22U Men’s Nastional Championship in Windsor, Ont., as 2025 champions. They will join hosts Pembina Valley in Winkler for the 2027 edition of the tournament.

Powers, Lagasse and Plett are all graduating from the Sultans program this year alongside Cody Gunderson and Brady Papineau.

— The Carillon