On the 245th anniversary of the United States’ Independence Day, the French Division 1 championship’s fourth matchday took place in Europe, shaking up the unusual patterns that seemed to be emerging early in the season, as unexpected teams started to assert themselves.
But the « logic of French high-level baseball » proved once again that it struggles to shift its winning momentum to teams other than the historic powerhouses. The PUC (2-4, .221 avg, 3.93 ERA) fell to Rouen (5-3, .246 avg, 3.05 ERA), who left the capital with two wins. Rumors of roster reinforcements for the Huskies suggest more fireworks and headaches for their opponents. Rainout for the Barracudas (6-0, .300 avg, 0.67 ERA) in Montpellier against the Templiers (4-0, .317 avg, 0.28 ERA), who maintained their perfect 4-0 record. This matchup would have been packed with insights between these two statistical outliers! Those same Montpelliérains travel west for the fifth matchday to face the Boucaniers, third in their group (5-1, .244 avg, 2.89 ERA).
The Boucaniers were stunned in Nice by the Cavigals (2-6, .161 avg, 3.80 ERA), who ended on a high note with a split. The maritime side will have to fight hard against the dominant Barracudas. The Toulouse Stadium’s hesitant offense (2-4, .181 avg, 5.14 ERA) couldn’t hold up against the Savigny Lions (5-1, .308 avg, 3.12 ERA), who made quick work of the southern side. Split between Clermont (1-7, .202 avg, 6.72 ERA) and Metz (2-6, .205 avg, 2.71 ERA). The Arvernes’ pitching struggles against the Cometz’s respectable ERA. The Montigny Cougars (off this early July) travel to Occitania to face the Toulouse Tigers on their ballpark.
This fifth matchday milestone will undoubtedly set the tone for 2021, closing the first half of the regular season. Unless rosters change or the magic of sports brings new surprises, we’ll see how this plays out!
V. Picard
Photo Credits: Hiep Than Trong
