Carillon Sultans stumble in MJBL double-header

The Carillon Sultans’ sparkling record took a bit of a hit this weekend, as the team dropped both games of a double-header against the Interlake Blue Jays June 23.

The Sultans lost the first game 9-5 and the second 13-5, moving their record against the Blue Jays to 0-3. In those three games, Carillon has given up 33 runs.

The Sultans looked on track to beat Interlake in game one. Despite some costly errors early in the game, the Sultans rode a second-inning outburst to a 5-1 lead. All that changed in the top of the sixth, as Blue Jays catcher Justis Hellegards hit a go-ahead grand slam home run to turn a 5-4 Carillon lead into a 8-5 deficit.

Hellegards finished the day with a combined seven RBIs in the two games.

Carillon took another lead early in the second game of the double-header, but this one was short lived. After the home side knocked in a couple runs in the bottom of the first, Interlake responded with eight runs in the next two innings to chase starter Tyler Plett.

The two losses didn’t stop Carillon from holding on to their top spot in the Manitoba Junior Baseball League. The Sultans are one game up on the Elmwood Giants, and are the only team in the league with less than five losses, despite having played the most games in the league so far this season.

Despite defeating the league-leaders three times, the Blue Jays only have a 10-5 record and are sitting in fourth place.

The team will be in action this week at A.D. Penner, hosting the third place St James A’s June 27 before heading out to Altona for a Canada Day showdown against the basement-dwelling Bisons.