Last weekend the first two games of the French Finals took place in Chartres with SENART and ROUEN each winning one. Now the best-of-five series shifts back to the ballpark of the HUSKIES for the potential three remaining games of the season.
The TEMPLIERS had the better start into the finals, defeating the defending champion in the first match 5-2, thanks to a four-run fourth. One day later ROUEN came back with a 7-4 victory to tie the series, holding off a late rally by SENART.
On Saturday Keino Perez (0-1, ERA 2.25 in Finals) is facing Samuel Meurant (1-0, ERA 2.00) in game three. The stats seem similar, but SENART batted .310 last week against Perez, while Meurant was holding ROUEN at a .161 mark. In the fourth match the HUSKIES are expected to bring Nicolas Dubaut (1-0, ERA 1.29, OPP AVG .231) to the mound against Evan Blesoff (0-1, ERA 7.88, OPP AVG .300), who at least was alright in the strikeout department with nine punch-outs, six on called third strikes. A possible fifth game would probably feature Mathieu Crescent (ROU) and Mathieu Brelle-Andrade (SEN). However there could be changes on the ROUEN side, as Dubaut isn’t listed in the depth chart of the team’s media guide for the upcoming weekend, so Crescent could move up to game number four.
Offensive wise both teams didn’t disappoint in the first two games. Boris Marche (.625, 4 RBI) and Dany Scalabrini (.429) led the HUSKIES. David Meurant (.571), Ernesto Martinez (.500) and Ian Young (.429) were successful on the TEMPLIERS side.
If the first two games are an indicator for the rest of the series, we’re going to see an interesting finish in the French Baseball season. However the reigning national champion should be slightly favored due to the home field advantage and the deeper pitching staff.
Recaps of games three to five should be available on stadeo.tv on Saturday and Sunday evening as video on demand. The French Baseball Federation also is planning to do a live play-by-play on their website.
Results:
Templiers Senart – Rouen Huskies 5-2
Templiers Senart – Rouen Huskies 4-7
Recap First Weekend
Schedule:
Saturday, October 18:
15:00 Rouen Huskies – Templiers Senart
Sunday, October 19:
11:00 Rouen Huskies – Templiers Senart
14:00 Rouen Huskies – Templiers Senart*
*if necessary