The playoff picture is starting to take shape after this weekend’s matches. The championship remains exciting and unpredictable. But defensive play, on the other hand, is plummeting.
What a series! Since being shut out by Rouen’s two Japanese pitchers, Taido and Ito, Montpellier’s hitters have decided to come out swinging. They’ve delivered three mercy-rule wins in a row. After handing Rouen a 12-2 defeat, it was the PUC’s turn to taste the fiery cocktail of the Barracudas’ offense: 12-2 and 14-0. We haven’t seen anything like this since the start of the 2024 season, when the Lions pulled off the same three-game sweep (17-4 and 16-1 against Montigny, 13-2 against Metz). During this triple showcase, the Barracudas scored 38 runs, recorded 37 hits (including 12 extra-base hits) with a .378 batting average, a .520 slugging percentage, and a .986 OPS. Some standout individual performances include Brossier’s 5 RBIs against the PUC (he finished these three games with 5 in 8 at-bats) and Nayral’s 4 RBIs against the PUC. Much has been said about the Barracudas’ offense, but we must also highlight what’s happening on the mound. First, Ben Couvreur: 6 strikeouts in 2 innings against the PUC, 14 strikeouts in 6 innings since his arrival, the young left-hander is untouchable. And what about Ramirez, who seemed completely lost in his first two starts: 19.28 ERA, 8 strikeouts in 4.2 innings. In his last two starts, it’s 1.64 ERA and 3 walks in 11 innings…
At times, the Barracudas are simply unstoppable. That was the case this weekend. Now we need to see if they can avoid the occasional rough patches they’ve had this season to become the clear favorites for the title.
The PUC had received some good news earlier in the week. Their split with Béziers had been corrected by the Sports Commission: two losses for the Pirates due to « violations of rules regarding players on license extensions (RG art 161-2) ». The Parisians are now just two wins behind the Biterrois and already know that in case of a tie at the end of the season, they will be ahead. Once again, the PUC let their chance slip away. In the first inning of the first game, Montpellier committed two errors on the first two hits, ultimately allowing only one run. In the 5th inning, with the score tied at 3-3 for Montpellier, Bowers was called out at home plate on an overly ambitious play. We’re not saying that would have changed everything. But we notice that Paris is often the victim of poor base-running: 6 runners caught trying to advance, 3 pick-offs, 2 double plays on line drives, add 7 outs on stolen base attempts, and you see that the Parisians lack a bit, or a lot, of wisdom and concentration.
One team that continues to excel is La Rochelle. The Boucaniers settled the score with the Templiers in two tense games, but their pitching went out and won with their teeth. Krzykawiak confirmed his status as Baseball TV France’s best JFL pitcher for the first half of the season with one of his best outings of the year. De La Rosa continues to gain momentum, Nieves and Paredes are turning into deadly weapons late in games, and Hernoux, who has been shaky at times, has been very solid. La Rochelle, where Hashimoto has disappeared (is he injured?) and was without the reliable Rosell (and still without C. Esteban), has shown depth and strength. This is probably the best edition of the Boucaniers.
Sénart (without Brown, is there a connection?), after a six-game winning streak, has fallen back to earth with four straight losses.
What do we see in the standings now? If we keep the idea that 14 or 15 wins are needed to qualify, we can give a semifinal spot to Savigny and La Rochelle, and a very good chance to Montpellier, especially if the Barracudas continue to destroy opposing pitching. This leaves a three-way battle between Rouen, Sénart, and Toulouse for the last ticket. The end of the season is going to be hot.
We can’t finish the analysis of this day without shaking our heads at this number: 26. As in the number of errors committed in the four games. That’s far too many, especially since, normally, in the middle of the season, players are in better shape and this statistic should be decreasing. Errors continue to plague the D1 championship. The 11 errors by PUC – Montpellier are of course the season record, a sad record… We’re averaging 2.16 errors per 9 innings. The same level as in 2025 (2.18). And, apart from the sweet exception of 2024 (1.89), the average of 2 is regularly exceeded: 2.23 in 2023; 2.31 in 2022; 2.09 in 2021, and we’ll stop there. It’s enough to compare to worry. Take 11 of the 12 best teams from the last European championship. There are only two championships where more errors are counted on average than in France: Great Britain (3.17), Sweden (3.61). In front of us, Italy (1.31), the Netherlands (1.59), Spain (1.62), the Czech Republic (1.66), Belgium (1.71), Germany (1.75), Austria (2.01), Croatia (2.04). France is therefore the 9th weakest European nation in terms of defense. It’s worrying and says a lot about the weakness of the D1 championship. JFL or not JFL, it’s time to learn to catch and throw the ball.
F. Colombier
Photo credits: Cover: @mael_curtil, RS Club
