Local Sports
Sultans earn bye to semifinals, in strong position heading into Sunday
The Carillon Sultans stared down some adversity, and the group didn't blink an eye, showing strong resolve and determination, keeping their record perfect heading into playoff Sunday. "Today, we had just the one game, but it was big for us," says coach Don Meilleur. "The other team in our pool that was 3-0, they won their game, so that put pressure on us. In order for us to get the bye, we needed to win. We played PEI, and they were a scrappy team all weekend long, they were losing and winning games that were tight, so we knew it was going to be a tight game. We also knew that on top of winning, we needed to limit them to nine runs or less, or we wouldn't get the tie breaker. They played a really good game, and we didn't have our best game, but it was 10-7 win. We faced a little adversity, which is good, and we were able to over come it, and now we're in a great spot heading into Sunday afternoon." The team fighting back through the ups and downs, says to Meilleur that this group knows what it takes to be special. "They were able to overcome everything that was happening us today, and that's not a bad thing that it occurred. We won the three games where we didn't give up a run, and we certainly were not feeling over confident, the guys knew there was still a lot of work to be done, but until you face some adversity, you don't know what it's like. As far as our coaching staff, we were pretty happy that we did face a tough test today. There was a time today late where we knew we couldn't give up those extra runs, and when they had runners one, we always made a play or the pitcher made a pitch to get out of it. It's a pretty good feeling to get that win, and going into the semifinals, these guys know they can withstand anything." After going through the tournament without giving up a run, Meilleur says giving up some runs is exactly what this group needed. "I have no issue with it," he says with a matter of fact tone. "There is no prize for giving up the fewest runs in the tournament. We really didn't care. A lot of other people were talking about it more than we were. You hear the chatter how we didn't give up a run yet, but it's not something we put a lot of stock in, it's not our main focus. We gave up some runs, but we still preformed when we needed to, and we got the win. Our bats came up bit, and we made some big defensive plays. Nothing but positives." Checking things off the to-do list has been a treat for Meilleur and the staff. "Everyone knows that in a tournament format like this, to get the bye to the semifinals, it's enormous for the pitching staff," the coach details. "We're trying to win every game, but you're trying to finish first in your pool. To not have to throw guys in the quarterfinals, making them available for the semifinals on Sunday, it's such a big, big boost and a bonus to not have to play that game. That's not to say the teams that go through the quarters can't make it through, if they have good pitching depth, but it's so much easier to have the bye. The guys right from the start, they eyed that semifinal birth, and they delivered. They did everything they needed to do, they supported each other. We have to keep it going for two more games, but we're feeling really good about where we're at." Having success to this point is nice, but Meilleur says it means little if they don't capitalize on it. "Pitching wise, we're good. We have our top four guys that are ready to go. We haven't decided who will be our starter, we're going to look at the quarterfinal game tonight, we're playing the winner of that game, so we'll look at their lineup, see the righty's and lefty's, and we'll decide our pitchers from there. Bats are going well, we're hitting the ball well, and our defense have been top notch all tournament. We don't have anything that's not going well, but that can change quickly. We said today, we'll face adversity, because all these teams are very good, so just keep playing our game, we don't have to change our game, we know we're good, we just need to do it for 14 more innings, and hopefully we can come back to Manitoba with a championship." If the Sultans and Manitoba were not already feared after the strong opening, they certainly are no, something Meilleur says the group takes a lot of pride in. "I'm very confident in how the guys will will respond," he says about being the hunted. "Even though Manitoba as a province isn't know to be in the finals or close to the finals, our players know how good of a team we are. We also got so much better by adding the six players from MJBL. We knew we'd be a tough out, we're sound fundamentally, we're a good team. We came in with our own expectations, and if other provinces didn't have that, that's fine, but now that we're 4-0, we know they'll throw their aces at us, but we're ready. We've got our guys ready, we're ready to hit and we're focused." The Carillon Sultans game is at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday