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The Carillon Sultans bounced back after an emotional game three, grinding out, battling, and finding a way to win game four, giving them the Manitoba Junior Baseball League title.
Coach Don Meilleur was still letting it all sink in as he made his way back to his house for the team party, but something stood out to him about this team, their heart. "Well, I mean, when you do this long enough, you lose more than you win, because there is only one winner at the end of the year. So, to get one with this group, you savor it, you enjoy it. It feels so great, it's such a great team, the guys are great with each other, we have such great team chemistry. The way we lost (Tuesday), we gave Elmwood some life, and it just felt terrible. But, we forgot about that game, we parked it. We went out today and faced their ace, who threw a heck of a game, but we held on long enough, plated a couple of runs in the sixth, and gave us the win. Super, super happy, but a lot of relief, too, for sure."
Battling through the disappointment of game three and bouncing back to grind out a very tough victory in game four, shows just how tough mentally this team is, says Meilleur. "I can't say enough about how about those guys just forgot about game three. As I've aged, I've learned to let those losses go a lot easier than when I played, but I'll be honest, I had a real tough night (Tuesday) and a terrible (Wednesday), because we had a 7-0 lead after two, we had a huge crowd at AD Penner Park, and we had all that anticipation of celebrating on the field with our fans, and then to lose that game 10-9, to have to play again, knowing their ace is throwing, I didn't feel great all day, but these guys put it all away. We talked about it, if we'd been told at the start of the series that we had a chance to clinch in game four, we'd have taken it. The guys deserve all the credit. We had our ace going, and they performed. No matter how tough the game was, how tight it was, we held on. We played excellent defense throughout, and we got the timely hits when we needed them the most."
What makes this run extra special to Meilleur is just how close this team is, and how they wanted to be successful for the person next to them, as much as they wanted it for themselves. "We're very, very tight, this team. We have players that have played together throughout their careers, but when you get to junior age, you're playing with multi years. We have 03's playing with 06's, we had a couple of call ups from 07's, and even though they may not know each other that well, as soon as we get together and we're inside those lines, the guys were just great for each other. Always picking each other up. Didn't matter if somebody made an error or had a bad at bat, the team was there to pick them up. Nobody ever gets down on themselves, because the teammates wont let them. I'm so happy for these guys because they deserve to taste victory. They did it when it counted, and I'm so happy for them. Great, great team chemistry, and that's huge when it comes to a winning ball club."
For these athletes, they've become role models for younger Sultans, one day wanting to be like them, and that's something Meilleur knows the group cherishes and doesn't take for granted. "It's huge, we had a game this year where we had the U13 AAA team to come out and take infield/outfield with us before one of our games, and they loved it. They showed up for the rest of the year, and they were there for game three, front and center as a group. You can tell they like watching good baseball, and they're good ball players at their age, but they have something to aspire to. Our guys, even though they are young men, they are role models to those youngsters, and they embrace it. They always talk to them, high five them, and it's so nice to see that continuation where the young guys are coming out to watch. I hope to do more of that next year, we really want to build the Carillon program with the younger teams."
Winning the league again this year means a team that was already heading to nationals in 2025 will be doing it again in 2026. "So, what happens now is, we're going to the nationals this year by virtue of our win last year," explains Meilleur, "So now that we won the championship this year, this team, minus the veteran player, will be heading to Ontario for 2026 nationals. Unfortunately, we will lose two players that graduate, but we'll pick up four or five guys that graduate from the U18 team. That's our prize for winning this year, we get to go again next year. It's a nice feather in the cap of our program, winning it two years in a row, and we're going to be strong again next year. The guys that are coming up, they got a taste in the playoffs, and they're going to be right back with us next year, and hopefully we're doing another celebration in 12 months."
It's shaping up to be another late night for Don Meilleur, but unlike the previous restless night, this one is going to be far sweeter. "I'll gladly give up sleep to celebrate this, that's for sure," he says with a big smile.
The smile of a champion.