All teams kicked off the season despite two postponed matches. Each side got a sense of their collective readiness, but more importantly, assessed their pitching. Indeed, this championship won’t break the French tradition: pitching is the lifeblood of victory. If you doubt that, consider that only 6 triples and 7 home runs were hit across 20 games. Meanwhile, 454 strikeouts were recorded in the same number of games, with 1,293 at bats — that’s a strikeout every 3.5 at bats.
For the clubs, the struggles predicted for Nice and PUC have sadly materialized. Nice nearly held their own last weekend against Savigny, leading 6-1 in the second game, but were caught and ultimately lost 8-6. For PUC, matches against Montigny and Toulouse were equally tough. The scoring wasn’t high, but with just 25 hits in 108 at bats, they’re struggling to put runs on the board and hope to win.
Sénart, Montpellier, and Savigny each played just two games and won them all. Acuna from Savigny is in top form. For Sénart, it’s Japanese player Takashi Mizuno making the difference. In Montpellier, Bustamonte and Brossier are elevating the team’s performance. Apart from Nice, two other teams have played six games: Toulouse and Rouen. Both sides, in the same pool, each lost twice. That’s less typical for Rouen, who rarely lose. The Huskies have been champions for the past three seasons and have lost few games overall. In 2018, their loss rate was 26%, in 2019 it was 19%, and in 2021 it was 22%. At this stage of the season, after defeats against Montigny and La Rochelle, their loss rate is 33%. That’s led their manager, Boris Marche, to say, « We’ve already burned through our best stuff. »
Now, let’s look at Montigny, La Rochelle, and Metz. Each of these teams has played four games. La Rochelle lost three but took heart from beating league leaders Rouen. They still haven’t received their foreign reinforcements but have shown resilience, notably through Nicolas Antoine, who pitched spectacularly well against the Normandy bats. The Cometz, meanwhile, have two wins and two losses. They dominated Nice without conceding a run and have reassured themselves about their chances of staying up in Division 1 next year. The Montigny Cougars have started the season well, taking a win against Rouen and beating PUC in both of their games. Bellen-Fagnoni has become their natural leader and is currently topping the league’s stats.
What can we expect this Easter weekend for the fourth round?
Rouen should bounce back against PUC, while Savigny will look to build on their strong start against Metz, who won’t go down without a fight. Then we have two heavyweight clashes: Montigny hosting the La Rochelle Buccaneers and the Templiers welcoming Montpellier. It’s hard to call either of those games based on the early matches. Next Monday, we’ll know more about the likely standings.
Photo credits: Hiep Images and Maxime Glod
