Baseball Manitoba's 2016 Awards Banquet was held this past Saturday in Winnipeg and it was a very special night for the Southwest Baseball League's Wawanesa Brewers.

The Brewers, who hosted and won the Provincial Senior "AA" Baseball Championship this past August, were named the High Performance Team of the Year in the Major Division.

"It's nice to see the guys get rewarded," said Brewers coach Wayne Gullett. "They've played very well the last few years. It's been a pretty tight-knit crew.  A lot of them are the same age. We are getting a little older but like I said in my speech, it takes a special group to have all these guys come back. I know Lindsey (Gullett) came out of Winnipeg and Curtis Plett came out of Melita and Jeremy Plett came out of Shoal Lake -  they're all coming back to Wawanesa to play ball and that's how you build a good franchise."

The Brewers won the provincial title for the third time in the last 10 years.

Curtis Plett, who had three hits, scored twice, and drove in a pair of runs in the provincial final against the Minnedosa Mavericks, was chosen Baseball Manitoba's Senior "AA" Player of the Year.

"It was kind of overwhelming today," commented Plett after Saturday's awards banquet. "I never really put this into perspective until I got here. I am truly honoured to win this award and it's something that I will look back on and be grateful for."

Plett got the win in relief as the Southwest Baseball League All-Stars defeated the Elmwood Giants in the final of the Provincial Senior "AA" All-Stars Championship in Stonewall and also helped the Border West All-Stars capture the Western Canada Senior Championship in Cold Lake, Alberta.

 

photos courtesy Patti Hacault

 

Curtis Plett receives the Senior "AA" Player of the Year award from Baseball Manitoba's David Whitehead