Bosses are already in charge!
The two finalists of the 2025 season, Montpellier and Rouen, are alone at the top of the standings. The Barracudas thrashed the Pirates, Rouen did a serious job against PUC. Is it to say that the championship is already played? First, it would be a pity, then, other teams have shown interesting things, and the hunt for the favorites is just beginning. But we will have to be strong to come and disturb the mano-a-mano between the two big arms.
Montpellier made the powder speak, signing at the same time its 20th consecutive victory at Veyrassi (regular season). 33 hits in 2 matches, the men of coach Signore have not hit that much since more than 12 seasons. With 16 runs on balls in addition, we see that the circulation was dense on the trails. We found Brossier where we left him last season (4 in 8, victory on the mound), Bouniol confirms everything we think of him (5 in 9), the two foreigners, Farina succeeded in his debut in France (5 in 8, 1 hr, 5 RBI. Of course, we will have to see the Barracudas in a more complicated confrontation, but at the moment, they are the ones to beat.
Le champion rouennais a été appliqué contre le PUC. Il a fallu du temps à l’attaque rouennaise pour prendre la mesure d’Osiris German – qui en fera souffrir plus d’un cette saison – mais le 3è passage face au lanceur parisien a fait mal avec trois home-runs dans la même manche, le 1er du japonais Nishikawa, le 6è de Brainville et le 1er de Lebouc, pour 3 points s’il vous plait. Comme toujours la défense rouennaise a été solide à domicile (1 seule erreur en fin de 2è match), les lanceurs partants ont fait le travail et l’attaque a été relativement productive, même si on attend forcément mieux du duo nippon Megumi – Nishikawa (2 en 15). Rouen, de toute façon, n’est jamais à 100 % en début de saison, les Huskies ayant programmé leur pic de forme pour un peu plus tard.
Un mot sur les deux victimes des leaders. Béziers inquiète après ce difficile 2-10 contre le PUC.Quant au PUC, il a montré des choses intéressantes contre Rouen. German, on l’a déjà mentionné, a été dominant pendant 6 manches. Les deux jeunes lanceurs Le Guillou et Rolland-Diamond se sont aussi bien débrouillés. Il faudra voir si cette performance sera suffisante pour battre une équipe de Rouen qui a montré de belles choses en attaque.The match of the day was played at Les Argoulets, where Toulouse and Sénart put on a show. It was a tough game that was decided twice by a single point, with big twists in both ends of the game. In the 1st game, Yorfrank Lopez was a bit shaky on the mound (3 points in 3 innings), but he got himself out of trouble with a 2-run home run in the 7th inning that gave the Templiers a 3-point lead, and then hit the decisive double in the 9th inning when Toulouse had tied the game. The 2nd game was also a big battle, with Toulouse taking the lead, but Sénart coming back to tie the game.In front of 3-0, Toulouse fought back to 3-3 before pulling away with two runs in the eighth, including a tie-breaking RBI in the second base and dangerous Szadlinski and Mendez at the plate. But Keivin Rojas got the job done. Toulouse, without Mendoza, remains a strong championship outsider, and Sénart relies on a strong lineup, but lacks resources, as the Templiers brought in Vera to bat in relief, who, while still dominant on the mound (6 IP, 1 ER, 5 K), is less comfortable at bat. But the offensive lineup is very complete and the defense seems to hold up.
Finally, the Lions and the Buccaneers tied. No surprises in Savigny where the veterans showed the way (2 doubles for Acuna, 4 RBI for Axel Amoros, 3 in 8 for Nunez). We were a bit surprised to see Coste come in as relief in the first game when the score seemed assured with a solid Pena (7 IP, 0 ER, 8K), as in the second game, this time for 3-3.teindre the fire. It will be interesting to see if it is now the international’s mission to occupy this position throughout the season. Les Lions remain the Lions, strong in attack, difficult to play under all circumstances. They have a good head of potential semi-finalists.
The Buccaneers have largely suffered the 1st match but have been able to regain their firepower with a solid push of 7 points in the 2nd, and especially they have been able to resist the return of the Lions at the end of the match, with, as is often the case, Wilce Nieves in the role of firefighter. It is never easy to be a player-coach, Crawford and M.Esteban, who have positioned themselves in the 1st and 9th rank of the line-up in a 3 in 13 that is a bit disappointing. But the work has been accomplished by C.Esteban or Hashimoto. With a solid mound and a balanced attack, La Rochelle will be taken into account this season.
This day has been interesting to see how the teams will perform in the upcoming games.The day was characterized by two things: first, successful debuts in D1 for a whole group of young French baseball hopefuls. Aymeric Girondeau-Peris (Montpellier) hit 3 in 5 with 1 triple and 3 RBI in the first game against Béziers; Luca Bernardi-Chiva (Savigny) was 4 in 8 with 3 RBI against La Rochelle; Ivan Bamberger (Toulouse) finished 3 in 8 against Sénart, with a triple that tied the two teams in the 8th inning of game 1 and a double that gave the winning run in the 8th inning of game 2. Well done to the young players.
The second highlight of the day is the barrage of home runs. We know that batters are often more ready than pitchers at the start of the season, but it really hurt: Hashimoto, Farina, Nishikawa, Brainville, Lebouc, A.Soriano, Gras, Lopez and Mayeux hit home runs. We can’t ask for anything less in the next games. Long live the show and the long balls!
F.C.
Photo credits: RS Club
