A France Challenge that perfectly summed up the season so far. A rollercoaster level of play, but surprises aplenty.
Montigny D-
The defending champions didn’t make it past the first round… It’s only happened once before in the Challenge, Rouen in 2008. True, the Cougars lost twice in extra innings, and they could have turned the tide. But, precisely, their inability to produce offensively (lowest batting average in the tournament at .140, no extra-base hits) is the Cougars’ Achilles’ heel. And they started their two non-JFL pitchers without winning, whereas that scenario had worked last year. You can genuinely worry about the rest of Montigny’s season.
Savigny D:
To their credit, the Lions were eliminated by the two finalists. But we expected more from Savigny’s offense, which ultimately only hit .152, with Acuna and Jiminian going 2 for 12—the duo that had been striking fear into D1 pitches. The Lions only scored two runs in two games, making it tough to win. The Lions’ pitching held up, and Romero’s solid outing against the Barracudas was encouraging. We’ll chalk this up to a rough patch for the Lions, who should bounce back in the rest of the championship.
Toulouse D:
Like Savigny, it wasn’t easy for Toulouse to get out of Chartres’ pool. But the league leaders couldn’t capitalize on their strong start to the season. Rojas’ absence hurt, and we’re surprised Jhon Garcia didn’t pitch. If the Stade’s two non-JFL starters are on the injured list, the rest of the season will be tough. Especially since Nathan Laot is pitching a lot, maybe too much for a young arm. The offense was average at best, and Soriano’s 1 for 11 didn’t help. Is this the start of a drop in the standings? We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, but Toulouse has caused concern.
Rouen D+
The « + » is simply due to the organizational success of the event: hosting a competition is something Rouen knows how to do. But on the field, it’s more of a D-, with a totally lifeless offense and pitching that didn’t hold up (apart from Igami’s solid outing). After a lackluster start to the season, the Huskies didn’t reassure themselves for the rest of the campaign. We can’t see what solutions will help the Rouennais regain their form. The Huskies have at least confirmed that the Challenge’s host club doesn’t win it (it’s only happened once in 20 editions).
La Rochelle C:
We loved the enthusiasm and level of play of the Buccaneers during the first round. We liked much less their passivity in a semifinal that could have been within their reach (not to mention, of course, the JFL imbroglio). A Challenge that summed up the Buccaneers’ season, on and off. We can think that Esteban’s poor outing was just a bad day, but Izquierdo didn’t really reassure us. The offense was solid, led by Pierre, Briones, and especially Esteban, not to mention Gonzalez’s decisive contribution against Rouen. So, it’s good to have finally made it past the first round after five consecutive failures, but there’s an unfinished feeling. La Rochelle will have to show more consistency to secure a spot in the semifinals.
Sénart B:
The Templiers crushed everything for two games and an inning. And then the Barracudas got going. But the heavy defeat in the semifinals shouldn’t overshadow the excellent impression left by Sénart’s young team. Bouniol, Brown, and Ogawa have shown they are among the best hitters in the league, Hvrytishili is a very useful player, Nakamura perfectly directs the pitchers, and the young hitters at the bottom of the lineup have shown some great things. If Kurima continues on his current trajectory after his performance against Rouen, Sénart is preparing for a bright future. And with the recruits who are coming in, we wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the Templiers at least in the championship final.
Metz A:
We’re quite proud to have predicted that the Cometz could be the surprise of the Challenge. They were, in the best way possible. They won their first game, they made it out of the pool stage for the first time, and they reached the final. Mission accomplished, and beyond, by Shane Priest’s men. Lots of desire, lots of fun, a bottom of the lineup that contributed, a pitching staff that did its job, Metz brought a breath of fresh air to the competition. And they are the only ones to have tripped up the future champion. Maybe they lacked a bit of experience in managing the final, but Montpellier was anyway above them. If they keep up this pace, Metz will finish at least well anchored in the middle of the table, or could even eye a spot in the playoffs.
Montpellier A+:
The Barracudas started very poorly. A surprising first loss to Metz, a hard-fought victory against Savigny. And then the machine got going: 34 runs and 40 hits in the next three games. It’s the sign of a mature, confident team that knows how to manage a tournament. Montpellier notably managed the pitching well, taking advantage of the abandonment of the JFL pitchers rule, and pulling out a bit of a hidden card in the semifinals, with former minor leaguer Bello, who showed his experience. The Barracudas also got Gosselin back, dominant in the final after a difficult start to the season. It’s also the offense that impressed, and not just with an unstoppable Kovacs. The lineup is dangerous from 1 to 9, it’s certainly the most complete in the whole league. If the Barracudas quickly get Couvreur and Pontiac back to beef up their bullpen, they’ll position themselves as the top candidate for their own succession. And in any case, the winning culture now seems well established in Montpellier.
F. Colombier
