A second round full of surprises, with nail-biting games and blowouts, plenty of errors and remarkable plays. It’s clear that teams are still fine-tuning and the season hasn’t quite found its rhythm.
Missed Opportunities
Rouen and Sénart put on a thrilling show in the opening game. Right up there with what we expected. The Huskies squandered their chances early on. Their at-bats were well-constructed against Lopez, they forced him to work deep into counts, they put pressure on him, but the big hit that makes the difference never came. They left the bases loaded twice, in the 3rd and 4th innings, and only scored their lone run of the game on a fielder’s choice. Sénart held firm, handed the ball to their young Venezuelan pitcher Keyver Martinez, who kept Rouen’s offense off-balance for 4 innings, and in turn put pressure on Rouen’s pitching, without cashing in at first. We think of those bad runs on fly balls in the outfield that led to two double plays. We also think of that 8th inning where Do Carmo was caught looking with the bases loaded. But an error by Roccaforte, on a tough play at first, opened the door, and a ground ball and wild pitch later, Mayeux found himself on third and Camara played the hero with a sharp double on the first pitch to tie the game. Rouen completely botched their extra inning, and Sénart capitalized with a sacrifice fly by Doyen with the bases loaded. Scoring with the bases loaded is what you’ve got to do. The Templiers struggled to digest this victory and were nowhere to be found in game 2, taking a beating in the 3rd and 4th innings, with 9 runs scored on 8 hits.
Comeback at Veyrassi
After taking a beating from La Rochelle last week, Montpellier got back on track by sweeping a doubleheader against a hard-luck Cometz team in game 2. They lost their starting pitcher M. Launay early on, who had just distinguished himself at the plate with a two-run single, and at the peak of their 8th-inning comeback, Reynoso, who had just cleared the bases and tied the game, was caught on an appeal play at first. Montpellier snatched victory in their next at-bat, thanks to a double by the ageless Douglas Rodriguez, but they certainly benefited early on from the pitching change, scoring 3 runs against the young Py, and from Metz’s errors, the theme of the day. The Barracudas made something old new again, with the return of G. Cros, A. Pitcher, and J. Haras, who all contributed to their double victory.
The Fury of the Buccaneers
20 runs and 19 hits in the first round, 27 runs and 22 hits in the second, another mercy-rule victory and another walk-off win, La Rochelle is striking fear in this early season, with a red-hot offense where Pena, Tovar, and Johnston are standing out particularly, and a bullpen that always seems to find the right solution at the right time. It’s euphoria in La Rochelle, who have taken the top spot in the standings and are the only undefeated team so far. We’ll just put a small damper on things, after Montpellier’s 8 errors in last week’s game 1, it was Savigny’s 6 errors, including three in the final inning, on the last 4 at-bats of the game, that gave the Buccaneers the win. But La Rochelle deservedly capitalized, and that’s to their credit. As for the Lions, without Jiminian in game 2, they were unrecognizable. Sure, Acuna continues to launch bombs and draw walks, but he seems a bit lonely in a very young lineup with a shaky pitching staff. 0-4 for Savigny after two rounds, that’s not common.
Occitan Split
It’s done: Béziers won their first D1 game, and in fine fashion, by dominating Toulouse with a 19-hit attack, in which every Pirate batter recorded at least one hit. Torres, in particular, is starting the season on fire, and you certainly shouldn’t tell Pilar he’s in D1, he’s hitting like he’s in D2, without striking out and with a batting average over .400. Béziers even came close to a doubleheader sweep, with a 9th-inning comeback in the first game and Meza at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, but the clutch hit didn’t come. Toulouse showed the potential of a very talented and promising team, but also the limits of a young roster, it was a bit more complicated, for example, for the Perez-Feliu battery, who finished 2 for 11.
Up Next
The Huskies will face the test of the Buccaneers (or is it the other way around…). It’s a very interesting clash pitting the team of the hour against the French champions, who we felt a bit miffed about their loss to Sénart, and who won’t want to let a direct rival get too far ahead in the standings. But the game of the day might be Metz vs. Savigny, two teams in search of their first win. If one of them sweeps the doubleheader, we might start to worry about the other. Béziers continues their Occitanie championship with a trip to Montpellier, which will also be revealing of the two teams’ level. Finally, Sénart travels to Toulouse, both teams were thoroughly dominated in their second game last Sunday and will be looking to find their footing.
