We’re starting to get a sense of how prepared and how well the Division 1 teams are playing. Savigny is the only exception, as they couldn’t face Montpellier, with the matchday postponed.
Meanwhile, Rouen kept Toulouse’s ambitions in check. First shutout of the season goes to the Normandy side, who crushed the first match 10-0 under the mercy rule in the seventh inning. The well-placed hits from Rouen’s Huskies against young Duquesnoy’s pitches proved too much for Toulouse’s defense. The second match was more competitive, but rain interrupted play. Once again, it was Rouen’s offense that made the difference, with hit after hit securing enough runs to seal the deal. After their victory against La Rochelle, expectations were high for Toulouse to give Rouen a tougher challenge. However, Rouen is reassured after losing their opening match of the season against Montigny on the first matchday.
Down south, Metz dominated Nice in two one-sided encounters. The Cometz’s reinforcements have finally arrived, and Nice struggled to contain the onslaught of hits and strikes. Cavigal will need to raise their game to avoid early mercy rules against heavyweights Montpellier and Savigny. Metz’s ace pitchers Priest and Quiroz put on a show, but it’s clear that Metz’s defense is a bit leaky, allowing Nice to score at least three or seven runs in each match.
Montigny faced the PUC, who also failed to stop Montigny’s steady march to victory in both games. The Cougars methodically secured eight runs in each match, leaving the Parisian side with little chance to score more than two runs.
Clearly, Nice and the PUC seem to be the weakest of the nine teams that have started the championship.
After two matchdays, we’re not yet looking at batting or pitching statistics, as each team needs to play at least six games to establish trends in good hitters and true ERA values. We can only note that Henderson Armani of Metz has made a notable debut (home run, double, single, and triple, already scoring 9 runs).
The third matchday will finally reveal all the teams in contention, notably Savigny. They travel to Nice and should start their championship with two victories. We’ll also learn more about La Rochelle’s improved form, who started with nearly a D2 team without receiving their foreign reinforcements. However, they host Rouen’s Huskies and will have their work cut out to at least secure one match.
Metz and Sénart will get a chance to size each other up. Toulouse hosts the PUC and will look to make up for the two losses against Rouen.
