Semifinals Recap

All of this is ultimately very logical. The two best teams from the regular season will face off in the final. And this will be the third time in the last five seasons that the ultimate showdown will pit the Lions de Savigny against the Huskies de Rouen. The two previous finals between these teams were both won by the Huskies, as were the four before that, in fact. Will respect for logic carry through to the end this time?

But let’s first talk about the two teams that fell short. The Boucaniers of La Rochelle have little to reproach themselves for. They shook up the Huskies, as evidenced by their 18 hits against Rouen’s top pitching staff in the league. Not bad at all, especially considering La Rochelle hadn’t played a match in a month, and under those circumstances, bats can get rusty. They made spectacular defensive plays, including an 8th-inning double play by Pena in Game 2 of the semifinals—a sharp throw from right field to tag out Megumi and then a strikeout throw to cut down the otherwise speedy Rioux. They took the lead in both games but never managed to close the door. The Rochelaise scored in 5 innings, but they gave up runs immediately upon returning to defense. Certainly, this reflects the Huskies’ unmatched ability to rise to their best when facing adversity, but it’s clear that La Rochelle failed—or couldn’t—to instill doubt in the Rouennais minds.

This was especially evident in Game 1, when the Boucaniers took a 2-0 lead only to give up three runs, then tied it up before falling behind again by two. But the real turning point came in the 5th inning. This was the third time Krzykawiak faced the heart of the Huskies’ lineup, and it was the third time too many. A decisive four-run surge sealed the deal. The young left-hander never found a solution against Rouen this season. In three matchups, his earned run average against Rouen stands at 15.19—compared to 3.25 against the rest of the D1.

Game 2 was less dramatic, but the Boucaniers still took the lead, only for Rouen to tie it up immediately. Everything hinged on the 8th inning, and one might wonder if it wasn’t the inning too far for De La Rosa, who hadn’t pitched beyond the 7th all season. After a strikeout, a single, a walk, and another single, the game was over—despite a late rally in the final inning. La Rochelle will regret the absences of Briones and Camara, but they have nothing to be ashamed of in their 2026 campaign. The Boucaniers are truly establishing themselves in the D1 landscape. Now, they must overcome the psychological hurdle of winning a semifinal game (they’re 0-8 at this stage of the competition). They have the tools to do it.

On the other hand, the Barracudas of Montpellier faced the same struggles they had all season: pitching weaknesses and costly errors. Montpellier’s five pitchers issued 17 walks, a 13.8% walk rate—lower than their regular-season mark (17.25%), but still far too high. For comparison, Savigny’s walk rate was 8.7%. As for errors, none were made in Montpellier’s Game 2 win, but three marred their Game 3 loss, including a decisive one in the 8th inning that allowed the Lions to take the lead. Offensively, Brossier (2-for-10), Doat (2-for-12, though with 4 RBI), Mendez (2-for-12), and Bouniol (1-for-10) didn’t perform up to their usual standards—and that’s a lot to overcome when hoping to win. On the mound, Ramirez (7 walks, 2 balks) never quite found his rhythm, while Delgado fought hard but clearly ran out of gas in the 8th inning after reaching 120 pitches. Still, props to Quentin Lesfargues, who won his first postseason start and held strong for 6 innings. Montpellier has fallen short in 8 of their last 12 semifinal series. It’s no longer just a statistic—it’s confirmation of a real struggle to elevate their play when it matters most.

Now, let’s turn to the winners. Savigny did what Savigny does: resilience never wavered, especially for a team without a home field, though they seem to have found their stride in Chartres. The Lions could have folded when they gave up 9 runs in the first two innings of Game 2. They tried to fight back, even reaching a late inning where panic set in on Montpellier’s pitching, but the gap was too wide. They could have called it quits when Montpellier led 3-0, then 5-4 and 6-4 in the 8th inning of Game 3. But they came back for the win…

We know about Savigny’s offensive strengths—Nunez, Acuna, the Amoros brothers. But in this semifinal, it was the bottom of the lineup that carried them. The Lions’ hitters 1 through 3 batted .226, those in positions 4 through 6 hit .187, and those in 7 through 9 batted .282. This shows true team confidence, the ability to be dangerous in any situation. Of course, defense remains an issue (6 errors this weekend), and the bullpen shows signs of vulnerability, as seen with Coste, who can either dominate a lineup or get blown out. But Savigny is a cohesive, mission-driven team that believes in its chances and finally wants to claim the title that has eluded them for 24 years. They have a key ace on the mound: Pena, who had struggled against the Barracudas in the regular season but stepped up brilliantly in the postseason and closed out Game 3, along with Orozco, who dominated in relief and gave everything to shut down Montpellier’s offense in the final game.

The Rouennais hitters are on notice—they won’t have an easy time. Some of them, however, seem fully ready by the end of the season. That’s the case for Megumi, who had been underwhelming earlier in the year but stood out with 3-for-9, 2 home runs, and 4 RBI, including the crucial tying run in the 5th inning of Game 2. His teammate Nishikawa also found his groove: 5-for-9. And what about Hugo Blondel, who has been unstoppable for several weeks (5-for-10, 2 RBI)? The Huskies also delivered in key at-bats, like Vissac’s two-run triple in Game 1 and Lebouc’s game-winning RBI in Game 2. We must also highlight Bert’s walk against De La Rosa in the 8th inning of Game 2. Up to that point, the veteran left-hander had been tormented by the Boucaniers’ power hitter, going 1-for-20 in his career with 11 strikeouts, and still 0-for-3 (2 strikeouts) in this game. But he found the weakness and reached base, pushing Blondel to second. Two pitches later, Lebouc broke through the outfield and sent his team to the final. The Rouennais were surgical and ruthless—just like Huskies in the playoffs.

Pitching was a bit less flashy. Ito was dominated by La Rochelle’s offense, posting his worst outing of the season, and even Taido faltered by allowing hits in the 8th inning before recovering against his countryman Hashimoto. But the Rouennais could rely on Thibault Mercadier’s strong performance. It wasn’t his most dominant start (12 strikeouts, still), but he fought through tough situations and came out unscathed. He’ll be Rouen’s top pitching asset against Savigny’s hit-happy lineup.

Everything kicks off next Sunday in Rouen, with the Huskies dreaming of their 20th title on their 40th anniversary and the Lions dreaming of being the first to knock Rouen out of the final. You couldn’t ask for a better matchup.

F. Colombier