15 games in 5 days, 7 teams, 6 countries: Rouen hosts the Confederation Cup. A baseball celebration that, we hope, will end in a fireworks display for the two French clubs involved.
While Europe’s top clubs battle for the European Champions Cup in Bonn, two French teams are in the mix until Sunday, aiming to win the Confederation Cup—a sort of European second division—and bring France back to the continent’s elite. The Rouen Huskies (hosting the event) and the Montpellier Barracudas face a tough challenge, led by Belgium’s Hoboken and Spain’s Tenerife. Vienna, Karlovac, and Therwill seem a step behind, but as Montpellier found out six years ago in Rouen—a 0-2 loss to Vienna in what was then the CEB Cup—you can never be too careful.
How did we get here? Last year, Rouen, after long keeping France at the highest level and securing a few prestigious wins over the years, completely missed the mark and finished dead last in Europe’s top-tier cup. Meanwhile, Sénart, at home, was caught in a tiebreaker by Brno and finished 2nd in the Confederation Cup. The result? France is absent from Europe’s top level, and what’s true for the clubs is just as true for the national team.
Rouen finds itself in a three-team pool with Vienna and Hoboken. Minsk was supposed to complete the lineup, but the war in Ukraine led to the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian clubs, and the CEB didn’t see fit to appoint a replacement—a bit of a shame for the competition’s balance. For the Rouennais, however, it’s good news. A win against Vienna on Thursday night would likely open wide the doors to the semifinals.
The Vienna Métrostars seem the least dangerous of the competitors. They’re struggling in their league, mainly due to a pitching staff with a collective ERA well over 6.40. The Therwill Flyers are no strangers to European matches. They’re riding a three-peat streak. Keep an eye on Takanobu Oshima’s (.455, 2HR) and Sven Leeman’s offense, and Christopher Horle’s (1.80 ERA, 22K in 15 IP) mound presence. Karlovac could be the dark horse, with a solid core lineup (Herrera, Gojkovic, Gales) and a starter, Antonio Horvatic, who threw 4.1 strong innings against Italy at the last European Championship. The Croatians have a strong resilience, having been down 0-3 to Split in last year’s national championship final before winning the next four.
A very complete Hoboken
Hoboken will be a formidable opponent. Belgium’s champion still dominates its national competition and boasts seven Belgian internationals. And we know that clashes against Belgium have never been easy for France. The Marlins will also be a tough nut to crack. They’re leading their league pool with just one loss and have a fiery lineup, with several hitters showing consistency and power (Encarnacion, Borges, Costales, Franco). But it’s perhaps their bullpen that’s most impressive, with four dominant pitchers, including the fearsome Nicaraguan Ronald Merano and his 1.50 ERA, 46K in 30 IP.
Rouen banks on its pitching
As often in this type of competition, pitching will be decisive. Tenerife is particularly strong, but Rouen can hold their own in this department. The France Challenge has reassured the Rouennais about their depth. Prioul and Moulin are two solid starters, young Mercadier has shown his nerves and talent in the final, Moscato can be useful, Lopez dominated Sénart’s offense, and joining all this is an Australian who not long ago played at a very high level, Todd Van Steensel. With all these arms for four games to play, Rouen is well equipped. And with the Huskies’ offense, led by Dagneau, Brainville, and Blondel, showing no signs of slowing down from the 1st to the 9th batter, we can say that the Huskies are legitimate favorites.
Barracudas ready to go
In Montpellier, the Canelon-Ozanich duo will be the stars. But the Barracudas’ young bullpen (Antonac, Neyral, Pontiac) has been a bit disappointing during the Challenge, though they’ll have an important role to play. It remains to be seen what lineup coach Mayeur will present, especially which foreign players will be kept to meet European regulations. Steve Anderson woke up during the France Challenge (5 in 10) but a .282 average in the league is insufficient. He’ll be a key player in Montpellier’s success, as Kovacs can’t carry the team’s offense alone, despite all his talent.
Let’s hope the two French clubs avoid pitfalls and don’t meet in the semifinals, which would secure a spot at the highest level for French baseball. This ideal scenario has happened before, in 2016, also in Rouen. The Huskies won 5-2, behind an excellent Yoann Vaugelade who outdueled Will Musson. Rouen wouldn’t mind if history repeated itself.
Now, let’s hope the rain doesn’t spoil the party, which is far from certain…
The schedule
Wednesday, June 8
10:00 AM: Hoboken – Vienna (Pool A)
1:30 PM: Tenerife – Therwill (Pool B)
5:00 PM: Montpellier – Karlovac (Pool B)
Thursday, June 9
10:00 AM: Therwill – Karlovac (Pool B)
1:30 PM: Montpellier – Tenerife (Pool B)
5:00 PM: Vienna – Rouen (Pool A)
Friday, June 10
10:00 AM: Therwill – Montpellier (Pool B)
1:30 PM: Karlovac – Tenerife (Pool B)
5:00 PM: Rouen – Hoboken (Pool A)
Saturday, June 11
10:00 AM: 3rd Pool A – 4th Pool B
1:30 PM: 1st Pool B – 2nd Pool A
5:00 PM: 1st Pool A – 2nd Pool B
Sunday, June 12
9:00 AM: 3rd Pool B – 3rd Pool A
12:30 PM: 3rd place match
4:00 PM: Final
All games are played at Stade Pierre-Rolland, Stade Saint-Exupéry in Rouen.
Full coverage of the competition on Huskies TV (YouTube).
François Colombier
