From August 14 to 17, 2025, in Hluboká (Czech Republic), the French women’s baseball team competed in the European Championship. Reigning champions after their victories in 2019 and 2022, they hoped to complete a three-peat. Ultimately, Les Bleues returned with a bronze medal, finishing behind Great Britain, the champions, and the Czech Republic, the runners-up.

The French Women Caught in the English Fog

In their first match, the French were caught off guard: defeated 16-1 by Great Britain, they could only limit the damage with a sacrifice bunt scoring their lone run.

Lights Turn Orange Against the Netherlands

The next day, Les Bleues delivered a spectacular offensive performance: a 13-4 victory, led by Selma Prouff’s powerful triple, supported by Livia Roeck, Shirley Patin, Diane Simon, and Océane Prunier. Cassandra Vigneau held firm on the mound, allowing France to relaunch their campaign.

Czech Republic Tames France

In a duel for a spot in the final, Les Bleues led thanks to Mathilde Sigot and Shirley Patin before succumbing late in the game (8-5). Despite a strong reaction in the sixth inning, the Czechs sealed the match in the closing moments.

What to Take Away from This Euro?

First, the ability to bounce back after an initial setback. Chilled by the English, our Bleues knew how to remobilize and impose themselves against the Dutch. Then, an effective collective offense, capable of producing big scores. Finally, solid individual performances, notably:

Cassandra Vigneau: she confirmed her central role on the mound. Capable of containing the Dutch attack in the second match, she showed coolness and regularity. Her batting average (.667 in the tournament) also proves that she can contribute offensively. Her dual profile as an effective pitcher and a productive hitter makes her a key piece of the French squad.

Selma Prouff: powerful and determined, Selma Prouff made an impression right from the victory against the Netherlands with a decisive triple in the first inning. She embodies the offensive energy of Les Bleues: capable of turning a game around with a single swing, she is also a source of confidence for her teammates. Her ability to chain hits and presence on base makes her one of the engines of the French attack.

Mathilde Sigot: with a batting average of .500, Mathilde Sigot once again delivered. Her double early in the game against the Czech Republic allowed her to open the scoring and put France on the right track. Her consistency at the plate, combined with her experience in big games, makes her an essential reference in the line-up. She perfectly symbolizes the balance between the rising youth and the confirmed veterans.

Conclusion:

With this new podium finish, Les Bleues confirm their status as a major nation in Europe. But to reclaim gold, they will need to fine-tune certain details: gaining defensive regularity, especially in crucial moments, and maintaining a high level of mental and tactical performance throughout a tournament.

Interview with Géraldine Gauzelin-Ors, France’s Head Coach, Reactive and Available!

BTVF: What assessment do you make of your journey? What worked or didn’t work?

Of course, we hoped for better sporting results, ideally a third European championship title, but the overall balance remains positive with a young group in the making.

In terms of sporting results, we tend to downplay a second or third place easily, but when the Japanese or other very big teams in university championships go through a rebuilding phase, we don’t say they are useless or incompetent, we say they are building a solid base for next time. Why don’t we take these facts into account in France? Our attack was better, and that was one of our main objectives.

Despite good mental preparation, it was essentially the management of pressure in the first match that failed and cost us. There was also a lack of pitching depth, but we will work on this in the future to achieve a better balance. Part of our pitchers are only 14 years old and have never pitched in a senior championship, so we have to start somewhere.

Most people will see the raw result without taking into account that our attack and defense have been more effective and that in a rebuilding phase, it takes a little time for the formation to pay off. What coach or trainer or manager can boast of forming a group and winning in their first year of group formation? But we have confidence in this group and in its rapid evolution, given the atmosphere and general motivation.

BTVF: With a complicated context (younger squad, no women’s baseball championship, a game plan to assimilate quickly), what were your priorities for this competition?

Our priorities were to start a group capable of bonding to perform over three years. We have created a real desire to play for each other, which has helped them overcome the obligation of rapid group formation. It remains difficult to start with a hundred girls and form a competitive and solid group in 9 months, but we now have a good base. We do feel the lack of regular play and experience, and we hope to be able to evolve this in the future with regular gatherings and playing opportunities.

BTVF: With few matches in this competition, which leaves almost no room for error, does this format influence your approach to a competition and your way of preparing for matches?

We knew we had to win as many matches as possible and put everything into each match, but most of the girls were not used to chaining so many hours of baseball per day, for several days in a row, and they now have a reference to prepare for the next deadlines. But the plan indeed leaves, in this competition format, no room for error, and access to the final became difficult from the first match. Even if we did everything to win each match after that, we are only masters of our game and not of the result obtained.

BTVF: Did the heavy defeat against the English change your plans?

Not really because the plan was to take as many matches as possible. We did not expect our girls to be so afraid of their own game in the first match due to their lack of experience, and the British, who had prepared long for this specific match, knew how to seize their opportunity. But the girls knew how to stay strong and come back in the next match, against the Netherlands, and put in a rather good performance against the Czechs.

Each team had big guns while we are creating a specific baseball group. Great Britain had its two reinforcements from the British Virgin Islands close to Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the Czechs had quite a few experienced softballers… But given the game proposed by our players, the plan remains the same post-competition.

The victory against the Dutch was a fine response, what made you the proudest in this match?

The fact that the team never gave up and came back stronger without losing their motivation. They knew how to keep their heads high and support each other after the heavy first defeat, and I saw a group that wants it, and I am proud to have brought them this collective fighting spirit.

The match against the Czech Republic was tight: what made the difference against us?

Some girls who had hit well in this competition hit a little less in this match, a phenomenon surely due to fatigue… and it costs a bit… We leave too many girls on base.

And our pitching drops a bit in intensity at the end of the competition, which costs a bit more against the Czech attack.

How do you plan to capitalize on this experience to continue progressing the group?

We will use the strength gained during this championship and give more playing experience to the collective to progress even further. We have a very good potential for work, it is enough to exploit it with the maximum of learning opportunities.

Of course, this also involves training in clubs, it is time to move to a fair format that takes into account the strengths of women and does not reduce them to second-zone players incapable of playing baseball with men. This also involves training opportunities through the France collective with gatherings and tournaments as much as possible, as the financial aspect remains a big black spot in the program.

What is the « touch » of Géraldine Gauzelin-Ors?

This is a fairly complex question for me who does not necessarily have an external image of myself, so I think the girls will answer this best as I asked them. Here are their responses in a few words:

“Never give up… Never!”; “Determination, commitment”; “Benevolence, audacity, and exigency/perfectionism”; “A good mix between discipline and benevolence”; “Listening… To the girls and the staff”; “Believe in the impossible, never give up”; “Federate, so that collective success takes precedence over simple personal achievement”

What are the next steps now?

Our ambition is very clear; we want to work even harder to gain places in the world rankings, and I am convinced that we are capable of it.

Our ideal objective is twofold: to reconquer the title of European champions at the next deadline and to participate again in the World Championships and obtain better results than in our last appearance. But above all, in practice, we want to build a sustainable project.

To reach this level, we will gather regularly with the extended group of players, including young talents who were not yet eligible for this European Championship, but who represent the future of the national team, integrated into the group that will gain experience.

It is essential to integrate these new generations as early as possible in order to build continuity and long-term progress.

The lack of playing time remains a major obstacle, and the need for more competitions is felt. The French championship (currently the Open de France) must be strengthened, with more dates and more regular confrontations.

In a first step, organizing additional dates to structure the Open de France is essential to multiply the opportunities to play at a real competitive level.

Without this rhythm, it is impossible to compete durably with the best nations.

And finally, let’s not forget the most difficult aspect to manage: the need for financial partners as we operate only on private funds. This project cannot exist without strong support. Today, we are sorely lacking financial partners to give these ambitions the means to materialize. The costs related to competitions, gatherings, and travel far exceed our current resources. We need partners ready to believe in this project, to carry with us the development of women’s baseball, and to contribute to writing an ambitious page in the history of French sport.

Sébastien Dondé.

Photo credits: FFBS website and WBSC Europe Instagram / Lenka Brozova