MONTPELLIER
On the 77th anniversary of the Allies’ victory in World War II, Montpellier’s Barracudas celebrated two big wins at Greg Hamilton Baseball Park in the city’s southern suburbs.
Driven by the club’s energetic speaker, fans had plenty to cheer about on Sunday, as the Barracudas didn’t just eliminate their opponents, Toulouse’s STB. The Barracudas also showed they’re ready to deliver on their promise, positioning themselves as one of the top title contenders in D1 for the 2022 season and beyond.
Toulouse got off to a rough start in 2022 (Credit: Le Baseblog)
Montpellier dominated Toulouse in both offense and pitching, leaving the Tigers—who started the season with high hopes—winless (0-4). Adding to Toulouse’s woes, their two young Spanish recruits, Kevin Tejada and Jostin Castillo, recently left the team.
With those key absences, Toulouse’s lineup looked anemic on Sunday, and Montpellier’s pitchers—Kevin Canelón, Mathis Nayral, Owen Ozanich, and newcomer Kenjiro Sugiura—took full advantage.
In the opener, Canelón pitched six shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out 13 to earn his third win of the season. In the afternoon game, Ozanich, making his first start of the year, was also dominant, allowing just three hits and striking out eight.
Montpellier’s Owen Ozanich struck out 8 and earned a win (Credit: Le Baseblog)
Montpellier’s relievers—Nayral in the first game and Japanese sensation Sugiura in the second—were also effective, combining for five no-hit, shutout innings.
The team will likely face stiffer competition in the coming weeks, but Sunday’s performance is certainly a statement, especially considering Montpellier’s performance at the plate.
Toulouse’s starters—John Will García and Edilson Batista, a former Boston Red Sox prospect from Brazil—aren’t easy pitchers to handle. Yet in both games, Montpellier scored early and often, collecting 20 hits total, with eight runs in the first game and 10 more in the afternoon match, which ended in a walk-off in the eighth inning under the mercy rule.
*Former Red Sox prospect Edilson Batista from Brazil (Credit: Le Baseblog)
Yudi Soriano, brother of teammate Ariel Soriano, had his best day of the season so far, going 3-for-7 with three RBIs. American newcomer Steve Anderson also had an exceptional day, going 3-for-9 with four runs scored. As for Sugiura, making his Montpellier debut, he went 2-for-4 with a triple in the eighth inning of the afternoon game.
A Three-Way Race in Pool B
With these wins, Montpellier moves to 5-1 and, thanks to how things played out in La Rochelle, is now tied with Sénart’s Templiers for first place in Pool B.
Undefeated (4-0) heading into the weekend, the Templiers faced a tough test on the road Sunday against La Rochelle’s Boucaniers, who were riding a three-game winning streak. And in both games, the home team showed once again why they’re in the mix for one of the two playoff spots up for grabs in Group B.
*Sénart’s manager, Orestes Kindelan, from Cuba (archive photo: LBB)
Sénart’s starting pitcher in the first game was one of the league’s best, Shane Priest, an American recruit in his second stint with the team. But he was matched up against another top pitcher, former Chicago White Sox prospect Wilce Nieves. Over seven innings, the two aces engaged in a true pitcher’s duel.
Priest allowed nine hits but held the Boucaniers to just one run. Nieves gave up six hits but allowed two runs—both in the seventh inning—to give the Templiers a narrow advantage.
From there, the game turned into a bullpen battle, and thanks to two dominant innings from Sénart’s Carlos Eusebio, who held La Rochelle to just one hit, the Templiers pulled out a 3-1 victory.
The Boucaniers, however, quickly bounced back and, in the afternoon game, jumped on Sénart’s starter, Alexandre Lods, who lasted just three innings after surrendering eight hits and five runs.
Forrest Crawford, Jorge Suazo, Ramiro Milar, and Maxence Esteban all had multiple hits in the game, while on the pitching side, Anthony Torres and Nicolas Antoine combined to hold the Templiers to just two runs. Final score: 10-2 for the Boucaniers.
With the split, La Rochelle is now 4-2 on the season, one game behind the Templiers and Barracudas, who face off next weekend in Sénart. The Boucaniers will have a week off before hosting Montpellier on Sunday, May 22.
Down to the Wire
While the Boucaniers and Templiers were battling in La Rochelle, another close match was unfolding in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, where the Cougars, 5-1 heading into the weekend, hosted Savigny’s Lions (2-2), the team that edged them out last year for second place in Group A’s playoffs.
*López has been exceptional so far this year (archive photo: LBB)
With a deep roster and top-tier pitching, Montigny is in great form this season. But in the opener, it was the Lions who clawed their way to victory by the slimmest of margins.
In that game, the Cougars’ starter, Yorfrank López, continued to shine. One week after tossing a complete-game shutout against Metz’s Cometz, he pitched nine more innings, this time striking out nine and allowing just one run.
But it turns out Savigny has a serious weapon in the form of newcomer Alexis Paredes, a former Cleveland Indians prospect from the Dominican Republic. Paredes pitched his own complete game—a shutout in his case—to give his new team a 1-0 victory.
After the lunch break, the Cougars and Lions faced off again, and the margin of victory was once again razor-thin. Firmin Hassed and Evertz Orozco pitched four innings each for Savigny, allowing four runs combined while striking out five.
Unfortunately for them, Montigny’s starter, Robinson Maestre, was a bit better, holding the Lions to four hits and three runs over eight innings of work. The Cougars won the game 4-3.
Maestre now sports a 3-1 record and leads D1 in strikeouts with 37. His teammate, Yorfrank López, is second on the list with 34, followed by Canelón (29) and Priest (28).
Rouen on a Roll
With half of the regular season still to play, Montigny (6-2) and Savigny (3-3) are still in the mix for the two playoff spots in Group A. But as things stand, they’re both chasing the Huskies of Rouen, the reigning D1 champions, who had no trouble dispatching winless Metz Cometz on Sunday.
The Huskies boast a core of battle-tested French players, a handful of new recruits—including pitcher Yaeferson Gómez—and a proven standard of excellence year after year.
*Hugo Blondel had eight hits on the day! (archive photo: LBB)
It’s no surprise, then, that they were able to put the Cometz on cruise control, scoring 11 runs in the opener and 13 more in the afternoon game. Batters Bastien « Balou » Dagneau and Hugo Blondel did particular damage at the plate. Both men went 7-for-7 in the first game and 7-for-7 in the afternoon match.
Pitcher Quentin Moulin (2-1) had a fantastic game for Rouen, allowing just two hits in the first game and striking out 11. In the second game, Gómez held the Cometz to three runs over five innings before being relieved by Esteban Prioul and Félix Carvallo.
Raimiel Rodríguez and his Cometz teammates (archive photo: LBB)
With these two wins (11-1, 13-4), the Huskies move to 5-1 on the season with a strong chance to extend their record to 7-1 after next week, when they’ll face winless Paris UC.
The Cometz, who played their first game of the season just the previous weekend, are now 0-4. Next up for Metz is a showdown Sunday against Savigny’s Lions.
Benjamin Witte
