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It was a rollercoaster season for the U18 AA Carillon Sultans, but at the end of the ride, the group earned a provincial championship.
"It was a pretty surreal situation," coach Justin Anderson says about the year leading up to the big tournament. "We had a tough year, we actually got added into the Winnipeg AA league this year, so it gave the boys a lot more game than we're used to. But, they battled, and came out on top."
Those hardships brought the group together, something Anderson says was key to the groups overall success. "We had a great group," he says proudly. "And to be honest, this year, we had a pretty young group. We only had two graduating players this year, most of our guys were 09's and 08's. Having Ryan Andres as our captain, he took the lead and got the young guys going, that really helped a lot."
Going into provincials, Anderson believed there were a couple of areas where his team could separate from the other competition. "Honestly, for our team, it was our pitching depth. We had a real strong group of pitchers this year. Between first year guys and a couple second year guys, then our one graduating player. When you get into provincials like that, you have pitch counts, and you have to monitor guys arms. Having depth pitching really helps. Then, our defense, we had excellent defense all year, and all weekend."
Anderson isn't shy about detailing the exact moment when he felt the magic and that this group go do something special. "Basically from game one," he says with a confident smirk. "I kind of knew right after that. We were playing probably the best team out of Winnipeg, the Elmwood Giants. They got up on a quick, but our guys didn't quit. This team just battles. We came back to beat them 5-4 in the bottom of the 7th. After that, I felt like the guys had it."
Building from there, Anderson says that final contest once again came down to the wire. "It was against the South Central Cubs, we had played them in the past, and they are a very good team. We knew we'd be in for a fight and that runs wouldn't come easy. We had Jackson Reimer on the mound, and he started off throwing real well. It was a tough game from start to finish. No one was giving anything. They go up early on us, but we just battled back. We kept fighting and fighting, until we got to the top of the 7th, where we got that extra run to take the lead."
When the final out finally came, Anderson says it was a moment he won't forget. "Honestly, I don't even remember the moment. I was just so happy for the guys. Watching the boys charge onto the field and celebrate, that was one of the best things I've ever had happen."
Through it all, Anderson made sure to soak in the moments. "After everything was said and done, I just sat down, watched the guys celebrate and go through the pictures. I realized how strong of a group we had, and how good of a group of young men I had. It was special."
Looking down the road, there's no signs of the U18 AA Carillon Sultans plan on slowing down. "We have a very strong core of young guys, first year players that stepped in and became leaders this year. Having those 2009's, those guys moving up through the ranks, that's going to help the program in a big way going forward."