History repeats itself. Two matchups from Opening Day 2022 played out again in 2023 with the same results. First, the Templiers and Cavigal saw the Senart side sweep both games, just like last year. Then, the Cougars and Huskies split their opening series, just as they did in their first meeting last season. Montigny also repeated their 6-0 victory over Rouen, just as they did in 2022.
Beyond that, things changed. The Toulouse side logically took two wins from La Rochelle, and Montpellier also secured two victories against Metz. Finally, Senart narrowly edged out Nice in both games.
The 2023 Opening Day came earlier this year (April 10, 2022, was three weeks later), and this likely had consequences for clubs that had less time to prepare collectively and bring in reinforcements. This is clearly the case for the Boucaniers, who are still waiting for three of their players (two pitchers and a catcher), as is Metz.
Two games were won by the mercy rule (a 10-run lead after the 7th inning), compared to just one in 2022. Let’s stop comparing 2023 to 2022 and focus on this year’s results.
No surprises for Rouen and Montigny, both teams were ready and their aces were in place. The game was tight on both sides, and the Normandy side managed to bounce back in the second match. The new Rouen pitchers were powerful, notably Luis Ysla. Hugo Blondel also hit a home run in the second game. A fair split between foreign and French pitchers.
Jonathan Montas of Nice for the first pitch
In Nice, the margin with Senart was narrow in terms of runs. The second game even went beyond nine innings, ending with a two-run difference (7-5). This shows that Nice was better prepared and that Senart hasn’t yet found its usual power.
Shane Priest, pitcher for the Cometz
Montpellier got off to a strong start this season. Despite a more powerful recruitment, Metz hasn’t yet managed to raise its level, suffering the same problem as La Rochelle: the absence of at least three foreign players at the start of the season. Canelon for the Barracudas was once again dominant. Ben Couvreur also made a strong return, pitching four innings and striking out 10 batters. We also saw a great performance from Montpellier’s new shortstop, Bustamente. For Metz, Priest managed to reduce the score (5-1) but couldn’t contain the orange batters’ assaults on his own.
Ben Couvreur, U18 for the Barracudas
Finally, the Toulouse side arrived well-prepared in La Rochelle. The coach and foreign reinforcements (an excellent battery of pitchers: Rojas and the two Garcia brothers) made the difference. The arrival of the Soriano brothers and Perdomo seriously added depth to the attack. Also notable was a home run by Mendosa for Toulouse. La Rochelle is clearly below its usual level, all the more so as they couldn’t pitch their ace (Nieves), who had been suspended at the end of last year.
Tony Amoroso, Rochellais pitcher
Next Sunday, two titanic clashes will provide more information about our D1 teams. Toulouse travels to Rouen, and Montpellier hosts Savigny. Le Puc enters the competition against Montigny. Finally, Nice and Metz will be able to size each other up to work on their assured survival. Rest for La Rochelle, who will then face the two big teams in their pool (Montigny and Rouen).
Two trends are beginning to emerge: more and more U18 players from the Poles are making their mark in Division 1, which bodes well for the future of the French national team. Secondly, it seems that Venezuela is sending us many players, to the point that we will certainly do an article on this French championship with yellow, blue, and red colors.
On the broadcast side, we were spoiled with three games broadcast, even if the conditions are complicated at the start of the season for the sound or maintaining the images, but it’s always nice to be able to at least watch some images. Next Sunday, only Rouen against Toulouse will be broadcast.
Photo credit: Benjamin Witte
