The Carillon Sultans are one win away from advancing to the Manitoba Junior Baseball League semifinals after a dramatic 4-3 victory over the St. Boniface Legionaires Wednesday night at A.D. Penner Park in Steinbach.

Sultans catcher Nick Grenier tagged out Adam Filmon of the Legionaires at home plate to end game one of their best-of-three opening round series.

With two-out in the top of the seventh inning, Jackson Mortimer hit a ground ball to Carillon third baseman Justin Tremblay who threw wide of first base.

Filmon, who led off the inning with a single and was on second base with two out, tried to score the tying run on that throwing error but Sultans first baseman Matt Funk threw a strike to Grenier who applied the tag that ended game one.



Tremblay, who drilled a two-run double in the bottom of the third that tied the game at 2-2, thought Nic Kauenhofen's gutty performance on the mound was the difference.

"Pitching got everyone going," said Tremblay. "Everyone's mind was in it and it was good."

Kauenhofen went the distance as he scattered eight hits and struck out seven.

St. Boniface took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth but Carillon scored the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the inning.

Riley Hunter scampered home on a passed ball and Cody Bartel hit a triple that scored Noah Voght with the Sultans fourth and final run of the game.

"I thought we played hard," Bartel said. "It was a tough game. We battled. We made some errors. We helped out our pitcher...made some defensive plays and got some clutch hits from Tremblay. It worked out good for us."

Game two goes tonight (7 p.m.) at Whittier Park in Winnipeg.