Stonewall hosting U22 national baseball championship
Many of Canada’s brightest young baseball stars will gather in Stonewall for the men’s U22 national championship this weekend.
The action starts Thursday morning at Fines Field, with playoffs beginning late Saturday afternoon. The gold-medal game is set for Sunday at 7 p.m.
It’s the first time Manitoba will host the national tournament. In all, eight teams qualified for the championship, including a pair of local squads.
The Elmwood Giants gained entry as the 2022 Manitoba Junior Baseball League champions. The squad, coached by Ed Kulyk, added six top players from across the province to its roster, including Ethan Minaker, Maddux Mateychuk, Easton Grieve, Cody Gunderson, Rylan Penner and Connor Cory.
“I feel the team I have this year — with the pickups I’ve got — is going be able to compete,” said Kulyk, who will coach at a fifth consecutive national championship. “I’m excited because I really think top to bottom we’ll be really strong. As long as we play good defence and have good pitching, I think we have a chance to finish top three.”
Manitoba was also granted a host team, the MJBL’s Interlake Blue Jays, coached by Dave Meyers.
Québec, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and two Ontario representatives are also in the mix.
The host Interlake squad faces two tests Thursday — P.E.I. at noon, and Ontario-1 at 7:30 p.m. — to kick off the championship.
Manitoba (Elmwood) challenges Québec at 3 p.m. in its lone Thursday game.
The provincial rivals collide Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Twitter: @jfreysam
Joshua Frey-Sam
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Joshua Frey-Sam happily welcomes a spirited sports debate any day of the week.
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