From the great ROUEN HUSKIES website reach us the first results from the 2009 season in the French Elite League, which started without the two top teams from last year ROUEN and SENART due to the European Cups next week. All three matchups on opening weekend ended with splits.
Derek Malikian, who played for SOLINGEN in Germany last season, led the promoted club MONTIGNY with four hits, including a homerun to a 10-2 victory in the opener against CLERMONT-FERRAND. With Ben Pfinsgraff instead of Daniel Hayes in the lineup the ARVERNES fought back in game two, winning also by a score of 10-2. Pfinsgraff is a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher, who pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies organization the past three years. He had an ERA of 3.56 with 182 strikeouts (37 walks) in 182 innings combined at Low-A, Single-A and High-A. Hayes apparently has left CLERMONT-FERRAND for an Austrian club, according to the report on the HUSKIES website.
Four more teams kicked off competition too. In Toulouse, STADE TOULOUSAIN and LA GUERCHE each won once. Kyle Gruver pitched the HAWKS to the victory in game two. In Montpellier, SAVIGNY and the BARRACUDAS completed the first game day in France also with a split.
More info on the games in the coming days
| Time | Home | Visitor | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, March 29 2009 | ||||
 |
11:00 | Stade Toulousain Baseball | La Guerche Hawks | 05:01 |
|
11:00 | Montpellier Barracudas | Lions Savigny sur Orge | 00:08 |
|
11:00 | Cougars de Montigny | Clermont-Ferrand Arvernes | 10:02 |
|
14:00 | Stade Toulousain Baseball | La Guerche Hawks | 02:07 |
|
14:00 | Montpellier Barracudas | Lions Savigny sur Orge | 07:04 |
|
14:00 | Cougars de Montigny | Clermont-Ferrand Arvernes | 02:10 |
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | R+ | R- | .pct | GB | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rouen Huskies | 25 | 3 | 244 | 74 | .892 | 0 | W16 |
| 2 | Montpellier Barracudas | 21 | 5 | 201 | 105 | .807 | 3 | W1 |
| 3 | Templiers Senart | 15 | 11 | 199 | 150 | .576 | 9 | W1 |
| 4 | Lions Savigny sur Orge | 15 | 13 | 159 | 143 | .535 | 10 | W1 |
| 5 | La Guerche Hawks | 13 | 15 | 158 | 179 | .464 | 12 | L1 |
| 6 | Stade Toulousain Baseball | 11 | 17 | 117 | 170 | .392 | 14 | L2 |
| 7 | Cougars de Montigny | 6 | 22 | 173 | 259 | .214 | 19 | L1 |
| 8 | Clermont-Ferrand Arvernes | 4 | 24 | 86 | 257 | .142 | 21 | L10 |
