by Jeff Stoeckel, Paris UC
Last Sunday in Beaucaire, Paris UC welcomed the Chevaliers of Beaucaire to Division I with an offensive onslaught. In game one, Paris UC out hit Beaucaire by a count of 27-3 on their way to a 21-3 victory in 7 innings. The game was stopped and started multiple times by the weather, but that didn’t stop the bats of Paris. Leading the way was Douglas RODRIGUEZ, who was 6-6 in the game with a double, a homerun, and 8 RBIs. Nine Paris UC players had multi-hit games, including 4-hit performances by new acquisitions Jerome DUSSART and Sebastian DUCHOSSOY. On the mound, American starter James MURREY was effective in his 3.0 innings pitched recording 8 strikeouts while walking none and giving up only 1 hit. Following MURREY, Maximin MONBEIG provided solid relief giving up 3 runs in 4.0 innings, largely resulting from 2 wild pitches.
In game two, Paris UC continued their offensive attack with 8 of 9 starters recording a hit in the game. On the pitching side of things, Paris UC was lead by a dominant performance from starter Will MUSSON, who pitched 6.0 innings recording 14 strikeouts while giving up only two hits. In relief of MUSSON was veteran Fred MOUCHET, who was effective in his own right pitching 3.0 innings giving up 4 hits and only 1 earned run. For Beaucaire, after starter Luis SANTOS was lifted after giving up 10 hits and 10 runs (4 earned), Giovanni OUIN stifled the Paris UC offense over the next 5.0 innings, not allowing a single hit or run while striking out 4.
Here’s what Head Coach Jeff STOECKEL of Paris UC had to say about his team’s performance:
“I’m always extremely nervous going into the first week of the season. I’m big on momentum – in an at-bat, in a game, in a season. For our team, coming off of an improvement year last year, it is very important to get off to a good start. This weekend, as bizarre as it was with the constant weather delays and other oddities, was a very bright indication of the improvements we’ve made in the off-season. The performance of newcomers DUSSART and DUCHOSSOY was fantastic, not only on the field, but in the way they integrated into the team this first weekend. From the start, the team has been very receptive to the new guys, and I’m very grateful for that as a coach. A team’s biggest friend is chemistry, and if we keep our team chemistry, and not let our failures derail us, we will be able to do some great things this year. As for some of the other guys, RODRIGUEZ’s offensive demonstration this weekend was a pleasure to watch. He can hit the ball to all fields in any count, and I get excited when he comes to the plate. Additionally, our offense was supported by 22 strikeouts by our American starters, followed up by solid relief efforts from MONBEIG and MOUCHET. We did what we needed to do to win this weekend.”