The Division 1 baseball championship kicks off this weekend for its 12th round. Division 2 baseball and Division 1 softball still have some time off, resuming next weekend and in two weeks, respectively.

Last weekend’s rescheduled matches gave us insight into the coaches’ thoughts. Let’s continue with the other coaches and the president. The top spot seems secured for the Rouen side, but the other three playoff spots will be hard-fought in the final three rounds. At the bottom, Montigny appears to have booked their relegation ticket, but they’ll need to play an extra match against the 7th-place team, and the Division 2 champions must also want to move up to Division 1. Relegation might not be inevitable…

Here are the standings before this weekend

Rouen and Quentin Becquey

We conducted an initial review after the French Challenge, which was necessary to sit down with the management, technical advisors, players, and coaches to discuss our season start. Indeed, my primary goal was winning the French Challenge. 

Now, we had to own up to this failure and quickly propose solutions to find our winning ways again. 

Adjustments were made both on the field and in the line-up, with different training content and performance-focused work. Add to that the competitive and vengeful spirit of the players, and you know the rest! 

Now, we’re at the 2nd review: after 11 rounds, 16 wins and 6 losses, an 11-game winning streak, 3 shutouts—including one against Montpellier, the reigning champions and 2024 French Challenge winners, and another against last year’s French Challenge winners. 

We’re also leading in team stats: ERA, batting average, and fielding average. The balance sheet is very positive; we’re winning and performing. The key for this final stretch will be maintaining the same match approach before the break. The pitching staff is giving it their all for the team, allowing the defense to stay sharp, the defense makes the plays that enable quick transitions to the offense, and the offense scores runs, which lets the pitching staff continue their work under good conditions. Team chemistry matters more than individual performances! It’s great to pitch with an ERA under 1.00—that’s an impressive individual feat, but if it doesn’t fit into a team performance plan, it’s meaningless…

Today, the standings are tight among all teams. I won’t make projections, but I’ll just say that every team is capable of beating any other.

The team is in great shape. The break will allow us to recover some players who were injured before the hiatus, including Louis Brainville (who made an excellent return against Toulouse), Joseph Toubeaux, and Gabriel Harrison. 

Savigny and Ivan Acuna

On vacation!

Toulouse and Yanaël Delpech

We’re in a rough patch, just as we were in a good streak at the start of the season. Now it’s up to us to reverse the trend, secure qualification, and approach the playoffs with confidence.

La Rochelle and Pablo Ossandon

My initial assessment of the championship is that our youngest, least experienced players have done fantastic work, even though it’s very challenging to stay in a good position in the standings because we’re almost never at full strength. The roster was always missing someone, especially for away games. We’re still in the playoff race and will continue to play hard to stay in the top four. Then it’s semifinals and finals. We’ll keep going together; the team spirit is very positive, and there’s a lot of good energy among all the players, which bodes well for the rest of the season

Metz and David Ten-Eyck

1 – We’ll only be able to make a real assessment at the end of the season. But there are already many reasons to be satisfied. The main one is simply proving to everyone that we belong in Division 1. Every match at this level is tough. But we’re now confident that we can beat any opponent. And why not win a title! 

2 – I’ll avoid making projections—the championship is too tight, and anyone can beat anyone. A lot will likely be decided during the final weekend of the season. Of course, we want to avoid the relegation playoffs at all costs. To achieve this goal and secure our spot, we’ll likely need two more wins in September. With three wins in September, reaching the playoffs becomes possible, but it will depend on the other teams’ results. With four wins, we’ll be in the playoffs. So we’ll keep working hard in August and do our best to secure the necessary wins in September.

3 – The team is in good shape. Unlike last year, we’ve been relatively spared by injuries. Let’s hope things stay that way until October.

We have many young JFL hitters who have progressed together for years and are now gaining significant D1 experience. In my opinion, these young hitters will be the key to our season’s finish. If they can take the next step in their development this season, we’ll reach the playoffs and go far. I have a lot of confidence in them because I know how hard they work in practice and how much they want to finish the season strong and seize this opportunity!

We’re confident in our pitching. And I salute, of course, the enormous work Shane Priest has done with our pitchers. We’ve managed the JFL obligations without overworking any pitcher. Matheo, Elliot, and Jose will all be in optimal form for the final stretch, and there are young pitchers gaining strength behind them, like Hugo Py. The situation for our non-JFL pitchers is also good: Alexis has perfectly fulfilled his role as the ace of the staff, which has made Shane’s and Yondeily’s jobs easier, and they’ll both be in optimal form for the season’s end.

I’ll conclude by highlighting two players:

Victorien Roze, who just passed the 70 at-bats mark, as he has every year since 2019 in Division 1. He’s the team captain. He puts his experience at the service of the young players. He remains one of the most dangerous hitters in D1—especially in clutch situations. And in addition to what he contributes to our club as a player, he devotes a tremendous amount of time and energy to the evolution of our facilities. Profiles like him are rare. We’re lucky to have him.

Yeixon Ruiz, who leads D1 in runs, hits, and doubles, and is in the top five in several other categories (batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS…). Yeixon is also a leader on the field and in the dugout. With each passing week, he integrates better into our club, and his influence is increasingly felt. As a player and as an assistant coach and hitting instructor, he will play a decisive role in the final stretch of this season. 

Sénart and Julien Brelle Andrade

After 11 rounds of the championship, what’s the initial assessment?

We knew we’d have a tough start to the championship while waiting for the final players to join at the end of May. During this first part of the championship, the team delivered good performances, like the double victory against Montigny, the win in Montpellier, or the run in the first part of the French Challenge. But the rest has been more complicated, meaning that when the players studying in the USA joined us, the team had a 3-5 record, giving us a chance to climb the standings before the summer break. Unfortunately, after highs (3 wins out of 4 against La Rochelle) and lows (1 win out of 4 against Metz), we’re still seventh today, with the semifinals slipping away, and still far from the 6th place that guarantees survival.

The standings are tight among all teams. What are your projections for the end of the championship?

A complicated end to the championship awaits us, starting with the return match against Savigny, an away game in Toulouse, and then hosting Rouen. It’s up to the team to pull off an upset to secure wins that will move us up in the standings, escape the relegation playoffs, and save the club’s future in D1.

How is the team doing, both the JFL players and the others?

For now, the atmosphere is good, but you can imagine if survival isn’t secured…