Rouen Huskies (23-5) vs Senart Templiers (18-10)
The Huskies will be heavy favorites to win their second straight French Baseball League Championship but the Templiers won 3-of-4 over a talented Savigny/Orge squad to reach the finals.
Scouting Report #1: Rouen has a deep pitching staff led by Nicolas DUBAUT, Karl MEJLHOLM, Keino PEREZ, and Philippe LECOURIEUX. The Huskies are 10-2 in their last 12 games dropping two one-run games to Montpellier. Kenji HAGIWARA is swinging a hot bat (12-for-18) in the post-season and leads the offensive attack along with Dany SCALABRINI, Philippe LECOURIEUX, and David ROMAIN.
Scouting Report #2: Senart shutout Rouen 8-0 on May 18 at the French Cup but dropped a pair of games to the Huskies on the final weekend of the regular season, 13-3 and 11-7. Matthieu ANDRADE and Samuel MEURANT are the team ace pitchers while British nationals Ian YOUNG and Michael HUNT anchor the offense.
Prediction: The Templiers upset a tough Savigny/Orge team in the semi-finals and Rouen has been erratic at times this season. However, the Huskies have too much pitching and a winning tradition. Rouen wins back-to-back titles in four games (3 to 1).