Men’s softball shines at the European level with the team fielded by Montpellier. The editorial team asked coach Pierre Manville to tell us about the week of competition. He responded at length, and as everything is interesting and exciting, we decided to share it all with you.
Introduction to the competition
This is a competition that can bring together up to 24 teams divided into four pools. At the end of a round-robin, a ranking is established within each pool. If the pool has five or six teams, the top three qualify for the SuperCup (only two in case of pools of four as in 2021 post-covid). The two or three last teams qualify to compete in the European Softball Cup. This year, the top three advanced to the SuperCup and the bottom two to the ES Cup.
Then each cup is played under a double-elimination format, where, to summarize, it’s about direct-elimination matches but with a joker that implies more matches. The earlier the joker is used, the longer the road becomes but still possible to access the final.
Each country has two qualifying spots, for the national champion and its runner-up, or possibly the winner of the national cup. A third spot is awarded to the three nations that appeared on the last podium of the European Championships. A spot is also awarded to each defending champion of the SuperCup and ES Cup. There are also invited teams like the Czech U23 national team, the German national team, or even once the Argentine U23 national team.
This is a high-level international competition as each team strengthens itself with nations leading at the world level (Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, USA…) or at the European level (Czechs or Danes for the most part). Depending on the agreements found between teams and these star players, it is quite possible to face the best players in the world at the moment. Thus, the European Cup is in some way part of a « world circuit » of the best softball tournaments.
The European Cups we participated in, 2018 was the most competitive as it followed the intercontinental cup of nations which also took place in Prague, 2021 also in Prague was the weakest due to the constraints imposed by covid with, apart from three or four Mexicans, no player outside the EU. This year is one of the more competitive years, it takes place in Haarlem Olympia (main site, 2 playable fields at night), Vennep (2 fields but only one planned initially, lit) and Amstelveen (1 unlit field). The sites are about fifteen kilometers apart.
Our Goals
Returning to the SuperCup since we tasted it in 2019 in Nettuno (the Cobras de Contes were the first to qualify in 2017) remains the annual goal. Anthony Cros, through his multiple contacts with these European and international star players, tries to strengthen our team for this purpose, notably with the addition of pitchers, as it must be recognized that no French pitcher can currently compete at this level, except against the weakest teams in the ES Cup.
In case of failure, the goal is to win the ES Cup, but without being pretentious, the level only becomes really interesting from the match for fourth place in general, as you find the teams that « missed » the SuperCup.
This year, we knew we were in a pool within our reach with the Bulls of Stenlose (Denmark) counting in their ranks Kim Hansen, who, throughout his long career (probably his last competition), is generally among the top three European pitchers of the moment, and Peta Rona, a solid hitter (infield player but who can also more than make do as a pitcher if necessary) and captain of the New Zealand national team, to name just a few.
The Czech U23s (rather U20) are always tenacious and generally have a good pitcher supported by a few good hitters. A disciplined, very fast team, they are not to be underestimated but remain within reach.
The Dutch team from Vennep Flyers were well within our reach, and we knew it, but it was our first match, on Monday at 5 PM after traveling all night by minibus, at least for the French players. Anthony, our best player and captain, only joined us the next morning. Caution was advised for this match.
Finally, the London Meteors were the underdogs of the pool and should not have posed us any problems given our lineup.
Here he is,
Liam Twigden (NZ) P, 1B, OF
Joel Goodall (AUS) P, OF
Jiri Pokorny (CZ) P, 1B
Jan Janousek (CZ/FRA member of the French team) 1B, OF
Jan Svaton (CZ) C, OF
Anthony Cros C
Grégory Cros 3B, INF
Rémy Pujal P, 1B
Rémi Benyaïch OF
Clément LePichon OF
Laurent Andrades OF, 1B
Jacques Boucheron (Clapiers Jacou) OF, INF
Nicolas Garin (Nice) INF, C
and myself… knowing that Anthony only arrives on Tuesday late morning and Laurent on Wednesday.
Match by Match
1st match pool A (Monday Vennep 1): W 8/1 @ Vennep Flyers.
We start well by putting a runner on base in each inning with a double. Liam muffles the opposing batters overall. We open the scoring in the 2nd on two doubles (Janousek, Garin) and two singles (LePichon, Boucheron). Garin hits a solo HR in the 4th, the Flyers reply with the same at the end of the inning but it’s their only point. Janousek adds two points on HR at the start of the 5th, imitated by Boucheron at the start of the 6th after two doubles by Garin and LePichon. Liam closes the door at the end of the 6th and pockets the victory (6IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 10K).
From this match on, we know we’ve qualified for the SuperCup unless something goes wrong against London the next day
2nd match pool A (Tuesday Vennep 1): W 11/3 @ London Meteors.
Jiri « Jirka » Pokorny takes the mound for this match. Jirka pitched and won the ES Cup final in 2021 with his two teammates Jan « Janda » Janousek and Jan « Hanzi » Svaton.
5IP, 0H, 1ER, 1BB, 12K summarize his performance. I sent Pujal after Jirka lost the perfect game and the no-hitter in the early 5th. I had to bring Jirka back in to finish the match, Rémy having allowed a point and a hit and a BB, to preserve the mercy-rule.
There we go, we are officially back in the SuperCup. From there, any victory offers us a second place and potentially a first opponent less well ranked.
3rd match pool A (Tuesday Vennep 1): L 2/4 vs Stenlose Bulls.
This match starts a few hours after the one against London, Anthony arrived during the first is allowed to play this one. We only play the Czech U23s the next day at 6 PM, so with good recovery by then. Goodall starts this match in case there’s a move to be made. Kim Hansen faces us and then a match begins with a defensive cap inning from each team where the Bulls offer us two gift points. Goodall resists but gets hit harder and harder with notably a titanic HR from Peta Rona who starts a beginning of the 5th where Twigden comes in when they come back to parity with still runners on base. One more point on a passed ball, then one more in the next inning on a single and the deal is done. Kim Hansen simply dominated us (4IP, 3H, 2R, 0ER, 1BB, 10K) relieved by Taine Slaugther (NZ) who allows no hit in the last three innings.
This defeat was predictable and in no way affects the morale of the team.
Note that at the same time, the Rabbits from Clapiers-Jacou also qualified for the SuperCup after a suspenseful match against the Belgian Spartans from Deurne, for their first participation, creating a historic first with the two French clubs qualified for the SC, the 3rd and 4th participations for a French club.
4th match pool A (Wednesday Vennep 2): W 4/3 vs CZ U-23.
The Dutch climate joins the dance and disrupts the schedule to the point of advancing our match from 6:15 PM to 4 PM. Around 1:30 PM, the head technical commissioner of the competition calls me to ask if we can advance to 3 PM, which I refuse as we are almost an hour’s drive from the sites.
In short, we decide to associate Pokorny and Svaton for this match, Hanzi has shown himself to be an excellent defensive catcher and immediately in sync with Twigden whom he did not know. The two know our opponents better than anyone. The match turns into a pitcher’s duel in which Mataj Macas faces Jirka. The Czechs open the scoring in the early three on a single and a double. We reply with two points at the end of the inning after two BBs from the Cros brothers, Greg scores on a passed ball following a stolen base, then Anthony on a single from Janousek. The Czechs equalize in the early 6th on HR which forces us, one inning later, in extra innings.
Designated runner in 2nd base, but we allow an infield hit, then a double steal, runners in 2nd and 3rd, no outs. Strikeout then pop on Greg Cros. We allow a BBI to the 3rd batter of the lineup but Pokorny touches the next batter. Fly out and we get out of the inning with one less.
LePichon being the last out, he is the designated runner placed in 2nd, which puts us with the 9th batter at bat. Greg Cros draws a BB. A passed ball creates a panic in the defense where the young Czech catcher misfires his throw to 2nd base in order to intercept Greg, after LePichon had already reached 3rd base. The latter scores on the error while Greg is safe in 2nd. Return of the beginning of the lineup with Anthony, Twigden, Boucheron and Janousek. I ask for a perfect sac bunt executed to the point that Anthony arrives safe in 1st base, poorly covered by the 2nd baseman. Greg arrives safe in 3rd but in the continuation of the action, Anthony seeing the 2nd base without any defender decides to go there but seems to stumble after his first stride. Seeing this, the Czech 2nd baseman, in possession of the ball, decides to tag him while he is several meters past 1st base, near the foul ball line. Greg, a fast and alert runner, doesn’t ask for more and steals home, game over.
At first, I really thought Anthony had done it on purpose, created a « decoy play » to attract attention. Then when I saw that he didn’t get up, I understood that it was serious. Achilles tendon rupture, end of competition, end of season. You have to know that Anthony is easily among the top fifteen European hitters (best hitter of the 2021 European Championship) and weighs heavily on opposing pitchers who have to work hard to get him out. We are 2nd in the pool but at what cost, Anthony will now follow us via streaming from home. As if that were not enough, his brother Greg can no longer hold a bat following a laser hit received in 3rd base directly in his pitching hand which will push me to use him as a flex (the counterpart of the DP, the « DH » in softball) at 2nd base and put Garin in his place at 3rd base.
Big performance by Pokorny on the mound 8IP 8H 3R 2ER 1BB 11K.
Super Cup
1st match SuperCup (Thursday Haarlem 2): W 8/0 vs Chicaboo’s (BEL).
It rained during the night and when we arrive around 7:50 AM, we discover an infield drowned under a good layer of water. The schedule has been delayed (updated while we were less than 10 minutes from the Haarlem site) however, no one seems to want to take care of the field, nor to worry too much about it. After all, we enjoy a beautiful sunny and pleasant morning, associated with a light breeze perhaps it will come to terms with this water without any help? Around 10 AM, finally a team of five or six men leans on the problem and deploys an industrial vacuum cleaner. At the same time arrives the Tenerife team who must play after us against the Rabbits and who does not seem to be aware of the new schedules. Scheduled for 9 AM, the match only starts after 11 AM.
It is now « Hanzi » Svaton who will catch all the matches but I have total confidence in him, he quickly knows his pitchers and is excellent at reading opposing batters. With him and the other three pitchers, we decide who is best able to face such or such opponent.
Here, the calculation is simple, we cannot afford to use the joker in the first match and it is logically Twiggy who takes the ball against an old acquaintance Roberto Ramos (Costa Rica) whom we regularly cross in the European Cup. The first three innings are undecided until the end of the 3rd where Lepichon draws a BB then scores on a HR by Boucheron who breaks the Belgian dam. Singles by Twigden, Goodall and Pokorny, followed by a hit by Svaton released by the right fielder then a double by Garin produce 5 points. At the end of the 4th, two more points are scored on a double by Goodall, who also scores on a single by Pokorny. Twiggy closes the door at the start of the 5th, 5IP 2BB 7K, no-hitter.
Objective achieved, we still have our joker, however Janousek had to come out at the end of the match feeling pain in an adductor. Next opponent, the Hurricans from Horsholm (DEN), winners of the SuperCup in 2019 and 2021 (no edition in 2020), a little later in the afternoon.
2nd match SuperCup (Thursday Haarlem 2): L 0/7 @ Hurricans.
Goodall starts the match for us, Janousek is on the bench and I wonder if we haven’t been cursed, right in the year when we are not at the maximum authorized roster of 17 players.
We lose the thread of the match in the 1st inning where on a wild pitch to initiate a double play, we allow two points, then a third on a fielder’s choice then a fourth on HR. In the 2nd, they add three more points on five singles. Finally in the 3rd inning we no longer take any points as well as in the 4th with Pujal entered in relief. The latter also breaks the combined no-hitter that was being prepared thanks to a single then a double the next at bat, our only hits.
We lose our joker but I felt that we shouldn’t insist from the end of the 2nd. We are now on the long road but we will also face teams that have also lost a match. Backed against the wall, we have no choice but to take the matches one by one and see how far we are allowed to play.
3rd match SuperCup (Friday Amstelveen): W 7/1 @ CZ U-23.
We face the « little » Czechs who do not oppose Macas who had yet long held us in check during the last pool match. We score 4 points in the 1st on singles by Twigden, Goodall, Pokorny and Garin as well as two BBs by Janousek and Svaton.
Goodall muffles the opposing attack as well as Macas entered in relief for the Czechs in the 3rd inning. The latter score a point in the 5th to which we reply with 2 then 1 points in the last two innings.
The Czechs are eliminated, we continue a few hours later on another site. Just after his 1st at bat, I temporarily remove Janousek (to preserve his leg) from the lineup where he was DP with Greg Cros as flex. Greg, who must leave us at the end of the match to take a plane to Italy for a friend’s wedding, thus benefits from 2 at bats (his hand going better) before leaving, having been flex several times since the beginning of the week.
This match puts the team in a nothing to lose mode and it’s us against the adversity and injuries. Fortunately for us, Janousek’s injury remains minor and he resumes his place. The watchword becomes definitively to continue to play until we are told to stop, to see as far as we can push. Already, we have equaled our only performance in the SuperCup (7th).
4th match SuperCup (Friday Haarlem 2): W 3/2 @ Bulls Stenlose.
Twigden is designated to contain the Danish attack while ours will have to find the flaw against Kim Hansen. It’s a pitcher’s duel who trade strikeouts. At the start of the 5th, Garin begins with a BB then advances to 2nd base on a sac bunt by LePichon with one out. Boucheron arrives safe in 1st on a strikeout released with two outs. Hansen allows the only hit in our favor, a three-run HR by Twigden, all unearned.
At the start of the 7th, the Bulls come back to one point on a HR but Twigden, like the rest of the team, keeps his cool and gets the last out a little later.
It looks like a heist because we just got out a title contender thanks to a single hit while they hit six. It seems that the hour of the beer is once again postponed and that we have to play again, in the early evening.
5th match SuperCup (Friday Haarlem 1): W 7/5 Olympia Haarlem.
Third match of the day for us, the muscles start to pull and the clouds get heavier with water. Only fresh pitcher of the day, the ball is entrusted to Pokorny who, in the ES Cup final in 2021, had dominated a majority of the opposing lineup then under the colors of Quick Amersfoort.
Despite the presence of the Mexican n°1 pitcher Villalvazo, the American n°1 Kilpatrick and the Dutch n°1 Lourens in their ranks, the Batavians underestimate us and oppose us an old Dutch pitcher Visser, far from his prime. He quickly fills the bases with two BBs and a hit by pitch, then a new BB on Goodall pushes the first point to the plate. After the sac fly by Svaton which adds a second point, Kilpatrick enters in relief and, with the fine rain beginning to thicken, with two runners on base and two outs logically attacks the zone from the first pitch. Garin doesn’t let the opportunity pass and catapults a drop ball a little too high behind the center field fence. Middle of the 1st and we lead 5/0.
The rain intensifies as we enter the field at the end of the 1st. The ball becomes more and more difficult to control and impossible to keep dry from the relief to the pitcher. We concede a first point following a single and a double, then a second following a hit by pitch then a strikeout released. No outs, runners in 1st and 3rd base, one strike, it is at this moment that the head referee announces a rain delay, despite the protests of the local players.
The technical commissioner informs me that we must wait and see the evolution of a rain that is only intensifying, quickly covering the unbenched parts of the infield with a good layer of water. The ground crew tries to intervene (at 3!) with large sponge mops when a lull seems to arrive but gives up after 15 minutes of useless efforts. Permission to go home 50 minutes away, it’s after 10:30 PM, we have to resume the next day at nine o’clock on Haarlem 2.
(Saturday) Again we arrive about ten minutes before 8 AM and we notice that there is no activity on the fields. We will finally play on the main field, easier to mop and vacuum it seems. After a good half hour delay, we resume with the same situation as the day before. With a dry ball, Pokorny chains three strikeouts to end the inning. At the start of the 2nd, LePichon begins with a perfectly placed hit bunt before scoring on a double by Janousek with two outs. Pokorny adds a point on HR at the start of the 5th before allowing three points on a sac fly, a defensive error and a double. Nothing more will be scored in the last two innings, Twigden entering in relief for the save in the 6th inning.
We had a close call but above all, none of us understand the choice of the Dutch starter. A gift on which we did not spit. Meanwhile, we continue to advance, one match more at the end of which the winner ensures at least a bronze medal. We live it but we do not want to believe it yet, we are just happy but surprised to be able to continue. Villalvazo entered in the 6th in relief of Kilpatrick but the damage was already done, Olympia paid two world-class players not to use them directly in an elimination match. They certainly underestimated us despite the fact that, apart from Quick, we beat the other Dutch clubs at every European Cup and that France beat the Netherlands in the last two European Championships. Kind of a jubilee offered to Visser? Frankly, I still don’t have the answer. Four hours before the next match.
6th match SuperCup (Saturday Haarlem 1): W 4/3 vs Hurricans.
There, there’s no more calculating and we have to put our best pitcher because it’s a symbolic match that allows access to the top 3 in Europe. We send Twigden with the instruction to hold out as long as possible with Goodall in relief if necessary. New surprise when we discover Lohmann as the pitcher and not Valdemar Terkelsen who had largely dominated us on Thursday afternoon, nor even Marek Maly former ace of the Czech national team a few years ago.
We are the home team for the second time only and we score in the 1st following a double by Twigden who crosses the plate on a single by Janousek. The Hurricans place a runner on base at the start of the 1st, 2 in the 2nd then three in the 3rd. Pop flies, ground out and a few strikeouts allow us not to concede any points despite everything. Twiggy starts to show signs of fatigue but he thinks he can control the opposing batters on their first two at bats. At the end of the 3rd, Boucheron starts the inning with a single followed by a BB from Janosek before Goodall scores the two on a double to right field. Twiggy retires the Danes in order at the start of the 4th while he himself adds a fourth point at the end of the inning on a single after Boucheron’s triple with two outs. At the start of the 5th inning, Freddy Terkelsen reminds us that he still counts among the best European hitters by hitting a two-run HR. At the start of the 6th, Goodall enters in relief of Twigden who has given everything. An error then a fielder’s choice put a Danish runner on the bases who scores on a single to center field. But once again, serenity reigns within the team which no longer allows any point. In the 7th, Goodall retires the batters 2, 3 and 4 in order and pockets the save in the process.
We did it, a guaranteed medal in the SuperCup! We were writing the history of men’s softball in the European Cup a little more after each victory but like this medal, it was not the main motivation. It was adversity that united this team, the reduced group, the loss of Anthony, Greg’s departure, (fortunately) Janda’s minor injury and the fact of being backed against the wall from the second match have welded a group where some players had to evolve outside their usual position. Quickly, it is necessary to refocus on the next match that we must chain.
7th match SuperCup (Saturday Haarlem 1): L 0/7 @ Magos Tenerife.
The assessment is clear and quick, the guys are drained after 7 matches in three very long days with short nights with wake-up around 6 AM. But well, and if ever, it is a place in the final after all.
The answer is very quick, we face Maiker Pimentel from Venezuela (elected MVP of the tournament) and he is about to start his 8th match of the week. His drop ball (kind of split) still reaches 80 mph. The guy is simply a machine, very impressive. The Magos have just lost their joker in the previous match against the Locos de Breclav (CZ) in 11 innings, however they remain much fresher than us where the same nine have played 7 matches in three days. In short, the Spaniards score 2 points in the 1st, then add two more in the 3rd before scoring three more in the 5th marking the walk-off on mercy rule.
That’s it, end of the journey. I think back to the European powerhouses we just eliminated, the Bulls and the Hurricans who had beaten us earlier in the competition. There is this succession of rather curious choices from the opposing starter who is more than within our reach and that we punish, before opposing us the real aces but too late.
I see myself, in previous years, with Anthony and the others, in the stands watching the big clubs in the SuperCup play these last matches on Saturday after we had most often dropped the bronze in the ES Cup (2018, 2021, silver in 2022) wondering if one day we could be there, in their place arguing for the SuperCup medals. The most logical answer was no. Maybe by signing a world-class pitcher, dominant, surrounded by at least two other international or top European level pitchers, adding one or two hitters if necessary, a few Czechs playing in the Extra Liga and then one or two French hitters if necessary. If the stars can align for a while, then maybe… but frankly too far to believe.
In 2019, we played the SuperCup only thanks to the presence of the n°2 pitcher of the Australian national team, Harrison Peters, a real horse capable of chaining matches and strikeouts as well as the presence of Eru Drage (NZ, member of the national team still a short time ago) who finished best hitter of the SuperCup.
Parentheses, in the European Cup, it is possible to sign three picked up players (PUP) outside the EU and as many European players as you want, including from your own championship. Thus in 2022, the Alligators from Oslo win the SuperCup without counting a single Norwegian. This is not what we want at the Bracos.
By the way, the performance of the Rabbits is to be noted, their 8th place in the SuperCup is huge and resembles a lot our 2019 campaign, with for them too the contribution of a dominant pitcher Victor Guedez and the catcher Cesar Vazquez both members of the Mexican national team. By the way, the latter also finishes best hitter of the competition.
From the organizational point of view, it was clearly visible that the Dutch were forced to organize this European Cup in order to relieve the Czechs and in particular the Prague Eagles club from having the main site three editions in a row, while organizing in parallel a U15 baseball tournament. This fact was especially noticeable in Haarlem, with the late interventions of the ground crew after the showers. Nothing to say on the other hand for Vennep and Amstelveen (where we only played one match in the end).
For the anecdote, a Czech club finally wins the SuperCup, the Locos de Breclav beat the Magos 2 to 1 in 7 innings, counting in their roster Michal Holobradek and Jakub Osicka (ozichka) who are nothing less than the two best Czech and European pitchers at the moment. The Czech national team is literally rolling over Europe to the point that they won the (European Championship this year without the presence of Holobradek, engaged on the American tournament season at that time.
Spectrum Prague wins the ES Cup thus embellishing this first with a double.
If we had been in the final, it would certainly have been dispatched 15/0 in three innings, an ugly final in summary. The guys were simply drained after 8 matches in 3 days and eleven in total, more than any other team.
Third in the SuperCup is an unexpected or even unlikely result given the evolution of the roster during the week. The absence of Mathis Guiraud on a torn cruciate ligament against Savigny during the last day of the championship at the beginning of August (SS of the French team and 2nd base of the baseball Barracudas team) made the presence of Jacques Boucheron more than indispensable. Anthony’s injury which offers us a victory synonymous with 2nd place in the group hurts us, since he will not even be there on the bench.
Honestly, I’m not sure the story would have been the same in their presence, players had playing time they might not have had and they made the most of it.
Liam Twigden has an enormous week both on the mound (4GS 4W 3CG 1.58 ERA 26.2IP 19H 5BB 38K) and at the plate (12/33 7R 2 2B 3B HR 7RBI) but it’s especially Nicolas Garin who has a monstrous campaign (9/25 7R 4 2B 3B 2HR 9RBI).
Pierre Manville
Photo credits: MUC Barrracudas
