Montigny takes on Karlovac for a shot at the semifinals
While Montpellier has already secured their spot in the final four, the Cougars are facing a win-or-go-home scenario against Karlovac.
As expected, Montigny will battle for a semifinal berth this afternoon (13:00) against Croatia’s Karlovac.
A victory secured soberly, thanks to a timely inning and the dominant pitching of Lopez, a rout (as sometimes happens in Europe when it doesn’t really matter) in five innings against the Marlins – not without leading 2-0 in the first inning, just long enough to believe a little before the Tenerife offense storm hit Montigny’s pitching. But nothing serious, it’s all about today. And Montigny is probably right where they wanted to be, with Mastre on the mound. Granted, the Venezuelan isn’t exactly reassuring with a 1-4 record and a 11.57 ERA in the French championship, coupled with a .395 batting average against him. But he had shown improvement in the Challenge, holding his own for 9 innings against Rouen’s offense (2 earned runs, 12 strikeouts, but 7 walks, which is a lot). If he’s at that level, cutting down on walks, he should be able to guide his team to a semifinal berth.
Because the Cougars are showing great things offensively, with a team batting average of .277 (against .268 for Karlovac), with 5 hitters above .333 and a solid defense, which has only committed one error, compared to 3 for the Croatians, we can legitimately believe in their chances. A victory with a commando spirit is exactly what fits the Cougars’ DNA. Under the Valencia sun, the troubles of the French Championship are far away, and Montigny can rediscover the breath of the epic, of their magnificent 2022 season.
Karlovac is a regular in European competitions, fluctuating between the 2nd and 3rd tiers, dominates its championship and the interleague cup (which brings together Croatian, Slovak and Hungarian clubs), but has nothing that should really scare Dylan Mayeux’s men. There are some good hitters, but you shouldn’t worry about the impressive averages in Croatia, where almost all of Karlovac’s hitters are above .400. The imports Alcala, de Freitas and Smith, the veterans Gales, Gojkovic and Karin are solid hitters, but those of Montigny have nothing to envy them. And then Karlovac has already sent their two best pitchers into battle, and can only offer the young Sven Anic or the veteran Garrett Parkins, who doesn’t seem to have much left in the tank.
A serious, focused, and confident Montigny should overcome this hurdle. The Cougars can ask the Montpelliérains for some intel, who had beaten Karlovac 6-3 in the 2022 Confederation Cup.
The Barracudas did the job cleanly, marching in pairs. There were home runs by Antonac and Rodriguez against the Austrians and by Brossier and Zan against the Belgians. With the extremely effective pitching of Canelon and Ozanich, Montpellier confirms that everything is going well in recent weeks. Of course, it’s always interesting to finish first in your pool, but the Barracudas certainly won’t want to waste too many arms or too much energy against Valencia. Their big day is Saturday, and, seeing the level of play of the French champions, we can hope for a fiery weekend for Ozanich and his men.
So, France-Spain semifinals in the works? That’s what we hope for.
