Quentin Becque has had to make difficult decisions in his young career as a manager. In 2024, he spent a long time juggling his line-up before finding the right formula. Last year, it was pitching problems that had him scratching his head. But the most important, the most decisive choice, he made on Sunday in Toulouse, in the 7th inning of the French Challenge final. One out, two runners in scoring position, the score tied. At bat, the Huskies’ prospects. Louis Gerberon, 17, one of the players in form at the moment, who had already hit a hit in this final, who remained at a .368 average in his last 6 championship matches. But the coach felt he had to try something. And he turned to one of his veterans Martin Vissac (26, but already 9 seasons in D1). Perhaps he had in mind the 2021 final, in which Martin hit the decisive double in the 10th inning of game 5 against Sénart. The gamble was not obvious. For a year, Martin has been plagued by a nasty shoulder injury that has significantly reduced his performance.Martin’s blood runs with the spirit of victory. Despite being one of the few players who does not use batting gloves, he fears nothing and no one, and carries his good mood and will to win, whether he is a starter, substitute, or called upon at the last minute. He is not a star, despite a few appearances on the French national team, but one of those soldiers who make armies strong. He has in him the legacy of 25 Rouen seasons where there is no question of capitulating when causes seem lost, where a final transforms an ordinary and hesitant team into a machine that can overturn anything. And, of course, with two strikes against him and facing the best reliever in French baseball, his hit crossed the Boucaniers’ outfield to provide the Huskies with their 11th French challenge, which added to the 19 championships and the French Cup gives them 31 national titles, an unmatched and probably unattainable number in the future. It was not a walk in the park, but the Huskies proved once again that they are a team that can win it all.Becquey pulled off a great move. In the semi-finals, he dared to serve the ball with a lead of only 2 points and 3 innings to play against the young Mattéo Manaranche, who is not really successful in D2 this season, with his average of 8.69 and his batting average against him of .341. But the pitcher responded to the confidence given to him by crossing the formidable line-up of Béziers without giving up anything. The success of the Huskies is above all due to their coach, especially in such a tight competition where every decision can change the course of history.
However, Rouen should never have won this challenge. If Clyde Rolland-Diamond had caught that routine ball in the 7th inning of the first game, the Rouennais would have lost against the PUC, and either they would not have recovered from this result or they would have drawn too much from a bullpen diminished by the injuries.
Rouen’s ruthless (and certainly tiring for those who do not appreciate the Meute) reign is that of a calm force, a deep knowledge of the levers of victory, an inexorable confidence, a relentless work at all levels of the club to build a winning team. It did not improvise, it solidified over time, carried by emblematic figures, players, coaches, leaders, who all made the others around them grow. In the final, in a decisive situation, the Rouennais are a little taller, a little stronger. This improbable hit by Vissac, in view of the stats, is further proof of this. What is interesting is that the Rouen culture is transmitted very quickly. One only has to see the performances of the 4 Japanese during this challenge, who had more or less convinced until then, to understand that there is a fluid that passes in the Rouen dugout when it is time to make a difference.No risk of betting against the Huskies in their quest for a twentieth championship title.
Otherwise, this Challenge was, as usual, enjoyable to follow. It confirmed the trends that Baseball TV France mentioned in its presentation of the competition: the home team does not win, the reduced format allows teams that have not made it so far to play to win and the clubs in form do not manage to transport their success in the championship to this jungle of matches with a knife at their throats. Savigny and Sénart, who have been on a 4-game winning streak in the season, have not made it past the first round. This does not bode well for their future, but demonstrates that the Challenge, even more so with 7 innings to play, is something else. Le PUC has missed the mark again at the end of the game, coming very close to taking down the Huskies, but is still chasing its first victory. Toulouse was too timid offensively to make it to the second round, but will console itself with the success of the organization of the competition. Béziers was able to maneuver well to qualify for its second semi-final in a row, and caught the eye with its excellent pitching.Au regard des spécificités du Challenge, des 7 manches, des règles JFL, du 100% de jeu français, et du fait que les joueurs étrangers sont autorisés à jouer, il est difficile de dire que les équipes qui en font appel sont « tricheuses ». Cependant, il est vrai que certains joueurs étrangers apportent une valeur ajoutée à leur équipe, comme Camara, Vignollet et Briones pour La Rochelle. Il faudra voir comment les autres équipes vont réagir à cette situation et s’ils vont suivre l’exemple de Montpellier en recrutant des joueurs étrangers.calendrier tight, it is impossible to project the performances that were achieved in the regular season onto the second part of the season. The matches were tight, 4 were decided by one point, 5 by two points, and there were two extra innings, which confirms the impression of a very disputed regular season with a shifting hierarchy.
It can be seen that La Rochelle seems to have taken a step forward this year, but the end of the championships have been difficult for the Boucaniers, Montpellier remains a very complex team to face – and analyze, Toulouse seems to be playing below what was expected, the failure of Savigny should not overshadow the collective strength of the group, Sénart is capable of the best and the worst, Béziers is not far from slipping towards the top of the ranking, and for the PUC, it is really complicated. We are not going to mention the case of Rouen, we have already talked about it enough.
Next weekend, two deferred matches will set the tone: La Rochelle will have the opportunity to take the lead in D1 and forget about its painful defeat against the PUC, which will succeed in getting back on track.Winning the match and Rouen will debut its title against the leader of D1, Savigny, which is not a comfortable way to return to business as usual. The beautiful Occitan weekend will already be behind us, but it will remain in the memories of those who attended for a long time.
– F.Colombier
– Photo credits: FFBS Glenn Gervot, RS CLUB
