While other championships (Division 2 baseball and men’s and women’s softball) seem to be quickly revealing potential playoff contenders, the same cannot be said for Division 1 baseball. The two pools played their 11th round last weekend, with four more complete rounds to go until the end of July.
All matches were played despite storms and heavy heat across the region. The leaders of pools A and B, Toulouse and Montpellier respectively, did not play and had enough wins to hold onto their top spots. Thus, the standings at the top of each pool remained unchanged after this 11th round.
Pool A
At this stage of the competition, it would take an expert to predict which of the four teams (Toulouse, Rouen, La Rochelle, and Montigny) will finish first and second in the pool to qualify for the playoffs. Rouen and Montigny split their victories, and La Rochelle secured two more wins in Paris against the PUC.
The coach of the Boucaniers, Pablo Ossandon, is more reassured: « These two victories against the PUC are very good for the team. Everyone is starting to gain more confidence, and that’s what we need for the end of the season. We all want to play in the playoffs; the team is united for our goal this 2024 season. We must stay healthy and united to achieve it.
In Rouen, doubt is very present. Here’s what their President, Pierre-Yves Roland, had to say: « A complicated month as we missed two of our three objectives without being completely safe for playoff qualification. A month that reflects our start to the season. Chaotic. We’re not playing with confidence, as seen in our extra inning game against Montigny yesterday morning. It’s a shame because we played nine solid innings, reassuring after a missed European Cup. Then it only takes one mistake for doubt to creep back in, and we delivered a mediocre performance in the afternoon despite the win. What reassures me is that even when we’re not playing at our level, we remain in a rather favorable position in the playoff race given the end-of-season schedule. Now, we’ll take it one game at a time to defend our title. We’ve already been through difficult seasons that ended well. So, it’s out of the question to imagine anything other than the title in September.
But the Huskies have reason to be reassured. Quentin Moulin, the winning pitcher of the second game against Montigny, said: « Now we know, every game is important, and we’ll have to give it our all on every pitch, every at-bat, every defensive play. Yesterday, when I took the mound for the second game, I wanted to give everything for the team because we had to win to stay in touch with Toulouse. I was able to pitch the way I wanted, and Boris trusted me by letting me pitch the complete game.
The 12th round (July 2nd) will be decisive as the four teams will face each other (Montigny vs. Toulouse and La Rochelle vs. Rouen). By then, Rouen might have retaken the lead in the pool by making up two postponed games against the PUC on June 25th.
Pool B
Sénart devoured the Cometz, who, despite not disgraced themselves, still couldn’t keep up with the leaders in two games and nine innings each time. They start well but suffer from the weakness of their pitching depth. On the Sénart side, it’s the opposite, as George Hvrytishvili (5 IP), Carlos Eusebio (3 IP), and Koki Takahashi (1 IP) combined for a no-hitter in the first game.
Savigny also dominated the Nice side. Again, too big a gap between the two teams, and the lopsided scores hurt. Savigny will be able to make up their postponed games against Nice on June 25th, this time at home, and take the lead in the pool for the occasion.
Jonathan Montas of the Cavigals de Nice
We now have three teams (Savigny, Montpellier, and Sénart) neck and neck as we enter the 12th round on July 2nd. The clash between Savigny and Sénart should tell us more about the underdog in this pool. Montpellier vs. Nice could retake the lead in the pool in case of a split between the two underdogs.
In a word, « thrilling suspense. » Finally, a championship that keeps us in suspense. The level of the teams has balanced out and will keep us on the edge of our seats until the end. Thank you, gods of French baseball…
