Translation:
The fourth day of the championship was crucial. Saint-Raphaël and Évry-Courcouronnes were at the top with a perfect record (6 wins, 0 losses), side by side at the top. This duel marked a first turning point in the championship to see who would be symbolically, perhaps, alone at the first place. Behind them, Pessac (4-2) tried to consolidate its position as the first pursuer, while Colombes (2-4) tried to catch up. At the bottom of the table, Grenoble and Nice, both at 0-6, hoped to finally start their season.
Three dynamics, three different objectives: the day had everything to redraw the balances of the championship.
Panthers vs Wildcats
MATCH 1 – Pessac 6 -0 Colombes
Facing Colombes, Louise Le Chénadec turned the field into a personal laboratory. Seven innings. Five hits conceded. Zero points. Ten strikeouts. Not a single walk. The kind of performance that makes you wonder how she does it.Stats who makes her say « I am the danger ». Around her, the Pessac attack patiently waited for the flaws.
Camille Riera hits just (a double, 2 RBI, a stolen base), Siobhan Hayes drives the nail in with 3 RBI. Mylène Graves plays the pickpocket: 2 hits, 1 RBI, 2 stolen bases, and a Hit By Pitch encased as if it were a tip.
Colombes, for its part, could never really develop its game, some contacts (Souici, Alvarado, Poley), but it was too little to exist.
Khaleesi of the Match 1: Louise Le Chénadec. Because a shutout with 10 Ks is more than a performance.
MATCH 2 – Pessac 14-12 Colombes
The second match was the opportunity for the attacks to shine. Colombes hits 13 hits, Pessac responds with 16. The points fall like coins in a slot machine.
In the middle of this tumult, Camille Riera remains lucid, cold, methodical. 2 hits, 4 RBI, a triple, a double, and a stolen base. Siobhan Hayes hits a home run, Mylène Graves hits a double with 2 RBI, and Louise Le Chénadec hits a double with 1 RBI.
Colombes’ defense also shines, with some great plays by Léa Souici and Amandine Poley.
Final score: Pessac 14, Colombes 12.sacrifice fly, she hits exactly what is needed when it is needed.Diane Simon hits a double, drives in two runs, and has three total bases in the game. She was a key player in keeping Grenoble out of the water with her offensive presence.Buts : 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0.
Comanches vs Pharaonnes
MATCH 2 Grenoble 0-10 Évry‑Courcouronnes
Buts : 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 0-5, 0-6, 0-7, 0-8, 0-9, 0-10.In this first act, the Comanches played as if they already knew the end of the film. Prapeng De Ridder, first of all, turned the circle into a forbidden zone: 7 innings, 5 hits, 11 strikeouts, no points conceded. A dry, clinical score. The kind of performance that says: « You can hit if you want, but it’s me who decides when you breathe. »
Around her, the Varoise attack imposes itself as a quiet force. Pauline Prade opens the match: 1 hit, 1 BB, one run. Inès Haudiquer hits 2 hits, Marjorie Brunel does not bother with nuances: 1 hit, 2 RBI, a swing that cuts like a blade. De Ridder, again, adds one RBI for the road, just to remind everyone that she can also hurt on the other side.
Évry, however, did not play small ball. The Pharaonnes hit 5 hits, Ambre Brouard touches, Emma Liminier touches, Christel Philippe touches… but everything remains isolated, without any follow-up.
Rosalie Coste throws a solid game (6 IP, 6 H, 4 R including 3 ER), but it remains insufficient.
Khaleesi of Match 1: Prapeng De Ridder. Shutout at 11 K, so… who’s the boss?
MATCH 2 — Saint‑Raphaël 10-0 Évry‑Courcouronnes 0
Saint‑Raphaël continue d’imposer sa loi, Pauline Prade en tête : 2 hits, 3 runs, une base volée, et cette impression qu’elle voit le jeu une seconde avant tout le monde. Derrière elle, Lisa‑Carmen Vieira joue la partition parfaite : 3 hits, 1 RBI, un double, 4 TB, une base volée.
Puis arrive Inès Haudiquer: 1 hit, 2 RBI, un double, un BB, 2 runs. Le reste du lineup suit le mouvement : Marjorie Brunel ajoute un RBI, Chiara Enrione‑Thorrand pousse un point sur un sacrifice parfaitement exécuté, Elsa Munier, Elise Buvat, Sofia Hammacott volent chacune une base.
En face, Évry avance dans le match comme elle peut. 4 hits, dont un triple magnifique d’Océane Lecourt Milliet, un éclair dans la nuit, mais rien derrière. Rosalie Coste prend deux BB, Elsa Lepinay frappe proprement, Inès El Mouttaqui‑Le Guen trouve la faille… mais tout reste isolé, sans suite, sans menace. Les 10 runs de Saint‑Raphaël sont répartis entre 10 joueuses différentes.Pharaons are not lacking in talent: they lack air.
And in the circle, Farah Saidi plays the guardian of the temple: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K, a shutout that is not a coincidence. Brunel finishes the last outing without trembling, like closing a door.
Saint-Raphaël is not content with winning. Saint-Raphaël announces something. A team that hits 10 points in 16 trips to the plate, steals 5 bases, gives up nothing… this is not a team in good form. This is a team on a mission.
The Match 2 Khaleesi: Lisa-Carmen Vieira. Because a match with 3 hits, 3 runs, 1 RBI, 1 double, 4 TB, 1 SB, is the definition of a player who pulls the strings of the game from the first to the last pitch.
This new day of Division 1 brought several major lessons in the race for the title and in the struggle for the intermediate places. At the top of the standings, Saint-Raphaël confirms its status as the best team in the league.Absolute reference by mastering their duel against Evry-Courcouronnes and positioning themselves as the main contender for their own succession. The Pharaonnes will quickly have to digest this loss to stay in touch.
Behind the leading duo, Pessac consolidates its position as the first pursuer thanks to a series that was generally well controlled against Colombes. The Panthers confirm their ability to alternate defensive rigor and offensive power, a balance that could weigh in the second part of the season. The Wildcats, for their part, remain in the race but will have to gain in consistency to hope to climb the rankings.
At the bottom of the table, the confrontation between Nice and Grenoble allowed the Grizzlys to unblock their counter and get out of the negative spiral. The Cavigal, despite encouraging sequences, remains in difficulty and will have to find solutions quickly to avoid getting left behind.
Sébastien Dondé.
Photo credit: club social networks; design results and ranking: Matteo Van Parys.
