LA ROCHELLE — The fourth and final round of the 2021 Challenge de France was hot, hot, hot, and not just because of the scorching sun that fried the baseball field at Stade des Boucaniers in La Rochelle all afternoon.
The Montpellier Barracudas, hoping for their first senior title in 15 years, turned up the heat in what turned out to be a surprisingly one-sided clash with the powerful Rouen Huskies, winners of the last five D1 championships and nine of the 16 Challenge de France tournaments since the event’s inception in 2002.
The task of containing Rouen’s talented hitters fell to left-hander Kevin Canelón, whom the Barracudas had kept in reserve for this occasion. He did not disappoint. Focused from the first inning, the Venezuelan pitcher — a former prospect of the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets who has made waves since joining France’s D1 league in 2019 — had the Huskies on their heels from the start…
