At the top, Saint-Raphaël reigns supreme and aims for a perfect season. For the Comanches, the challenge is no longer to win (they already know how) but to remain undefeated, to preserve their aura, to defend this status of invincibles that makes the entire division tremble.
Facing them, Évry-Courcouronnes wants to bring them down and mark their territory again after losing the final in the Challenge de France. Additionally, the Pharaonnes want to secure their second place and assert that they are the only ones capable of looking Saint-Raphaël in the eye.
But Pessac is lurking, a team having a very good season. The Panthères know they can still shake up the hierarchy, that a misstep by Évry could reignite everything. Their goal: to stay in touch, to remain dangerous.
Further down, Colombes is fighting to exist; the team is capable of brilliance but is too often punished by their mistakes. Grenoble is advancing in a difficult season, filled with battles and small victories amidst the storms, and remains in an uncomfortable position.
And finally, Nice has regained its health during the Challenge de France and intends to ride this momentum to make up for some of their deficit against Grenoble, who could lose big this weekend.
Pharaonnes vs Comanches
Game 1: Évry 1-10 Saint-Raphaël
Évry had the chance to disrupt the beautiful Var machine and take another step toward the final. Unfortunately for them, the Comanches are still irresistible!
Évry, however, starts with good intentions. Ambre Brouard opens the game with a clean single, steals a base, and sets the tone. Sirena Salazar drives in the Pharaonnes’ only run with a well-placed hit. But very quickly, the machine jams: only two hits, six strikeouts, and a defense that cracks at key moments. Rosalie Coste and Emma Liminier fight in the circle, but Saint-Raphaël hits intelligently.
Because on the other side, the Comanches deliver an offensive performance of surgical precision. Inès Haudiquer opens the way with a powerful single. Prapeng De Ridder, patient and explosive, multiplies her trips to base. Marjorie Brunel, true to herself, hits two hits and scores three times.
Then comes Mélissa Mayeux’s masterclass. Two hits, a triple, three RBI, two walks, four total bases. With every swing, she sets the pace.
Behind her, Léna Sellam drives the nail home: two hits, a double, four RBIs; Elsa Munier adds an RBI on a perfectly executed sacrifice; Elise Buvat hits two doubles, Youna Pean two hits…
Thirteen hits, ten points, eight walks obtained: an offensive machine that gave Évry no chance.
And while the offense rolls, Enora Simon locks everything down. Six innings, two small hits allowed, one unearned run, six strikeouts, zero walks.
The Khaleesi of the match: Mélissa Mayeux. She was everywhere. A captain’s match.
Game 2: Évry 7-14 Saint-Raphaël
The start of the game is balanced: Ambre Brouard gets a walk, Sirena Salazar hits a single and drives in a run, Rosalie Coste finds the line for a double, Christel Philippe signs two clean hits, Inès El Mouttaqui-Le Guen scores twice. Évry advances, pushes, insists. But every time the Pharaonnes seem to be able to establish a rhythm, Saint-Raphaël responds immediately, and even stronger.
Because on the other side, the Comanches deliver an impressive offensive performance. Inès Haudiquer opens the game with a powerful double. Chiara Enrione-Thorrand, repositioned at 3B/1B, hits three hits, drives in two runs and scores twice. Marjorie Brunel, true to her role as a metronome, adds a hit, an RBI, a walk. Then comes Mélissa Mayeux: three hits, a double, a triple, two RBI, four runs scored, a walk.
Behind her, Elsa Munier hits two hits, drives in two runs, and Agathe Sagory slams a triple that cracks Évry’s defense. Enora Simon, who entered in relief, adds two hits and an RBI.
In the circle, the management is meticulous: Prapeng De Ridder pitches five solid innings, only two hits allowed, two unearned runs, three walks, two strikeouts; Farah Saidi is well supported by her offense; Enora Simon, again, comes back to close the door: two innings, two hits, zero runs, four strikeouts.
The Khaleesi of the match: Chiara Enrione-Thorrand. In the shadow of Mélissa Mayeux, she was the silent blade. Three hits, two RBI, two runs scored, no mental errors, a constant presence in the crucial moments. She was the discreet but essential engine of the victory.
Wildcats vs Panthères
Game 1: Colombes 3-18 Pessac
From the first at-bat, the tone is set: Isaure Gourgues opens the way with a double and three RBIs. Behind her, Marion Travers and Camille Riera follow, each adding their stone to the offensive edifice. Riera, in particular, embodies surgical precision: three hits, three RBIs, two stolen bases. Mylène Graves, on the other hand, hits with rage (two hits, a double, three RBIs) and explodes the opposing defense with each passage.
The Panthères play as a block: Amandine Métreau, Siobhan Hayes, Laurence Cornaille, and Joséphine Robishaw take turns to keep the machine running: 18 points, 14 hits, six walks, a formidable efficiency.
On the other side, the Wildcats try to resist, but the Panthères are unstoppable. Jenny Durassier hits a double and drives in two runs, Oriana Alvarado Torres adds an RBI, and Garance Viguier, true to her role as offensive captain, steals a base and scores. But the defense cracks: five errors, lost balls, missed relays, and constant pressure imposed by the Panthères. Laurie Saurat and Estelle Meyer fight in the circle, but the hits keep raining down.
Pessac, led by an imperial Laurence Cornaille in the pitching (5 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 5 strikeouts, zero walks), leaves no opening.
The Khaleesi of the match: Camille Riera, author of a perfect match: three hits, three RBIs, two stolen bases, and a constant presence in the heart of the game.
Game 2: Colombes 1-11 Pessac
Isaure Gourgues opens the scoring with a single, followed by Marion Travers, always as explosive on the paths. Then comes the heavy artillery: Camille Riera and Mylène Graves, the two twin blades of the Pessac offense. Riera hits two hits, scores twice, drives in a run. Graves, on the other hand, delivers a solid performance: three hits, a triple, three RBIs, three runs scored.
But the hit that changes everything, the one that tips the match into another dimension, comes from Joséphine Robishaw. Three hits, a double, a triple, five RBIs. Five! Her triple is a hammer blow for Colombes.
The Wildcats, however, do not give up. Nadia Dozova hits a powerful single and scores the only run of her team. Shahineze Souici drives in that run with a clean, precise contact. Marie Ten Eyck and Estelle Meyer get walks, try to restart the machine. But it won’t be enough.
In the circle, Louise Le Chenadec delivers a masterful performance: 4 innings, 2 hits, 1 unearned run, 5 strikeouts, zero walks. She suffocates Colombes and imposes a tempo that the Wildcats will never be able to break.
On the other side, Estelle Meyer and Laurie Saurat fight, but Pessac hits too hard and too accurately. Twelve hits, eleven runs, no walks allowed: a perfectly tuned machine.
The Khaleesi of the match: Joséphine Robishaw. Three hits, a double, a triple, five RBIs, an offensive presence that set the pace of the game.
Cavigal vs Grizzlys
Game 1: Nice 11-9 Grenoble
Nice immediately sets an infernal pace. Christelle Giret opens the way with two hits and two RBIs. Sandra Dymowiez, despite having no hits, scores twice, gets two walks and drives in a run: a baserunning presence that keeps the Grenoble defense under constant tension. Then comes Emma Flayol, imperial: two hits, two doubles, an RBI, four total bases, surgical precision in the outfield. Emma Ledin, on the other hand, hits two hits, a double, two RBIs, and steals a base at a decisive moment. And what about Pamela Dessi, who turns a monumental triple into three RBIs!
The Grizzlys respond with admirable ferocity. Hermine Boudousq hits a monstrous game: two hits, a home run, three RBIs, five total bases. Kristyna Korousova adds two hits, two RBIs, two stolen bases. Diane Simon hits two hits and a double, always dangerous in the hot moments. Lahna Josselin-Ogee signs two hits, a double, and an RBI, while Victoria Biteur scores twice and steals two.
Grenoble hits ten times, scores nine runs, steals eight bases!, and pushes Nice to their limits. But the difference is made in pitching.
Amandine Bertrand holds the seven innings. She takes hits, she bends, but she never breaks. Only three runs are earned, and above all: she shuts the door in critical moments, notably at the end of the game, when Grenoble still threatens.
The Khaleesi of the match: Emma Flayol: she was the most consistent, the most precise, the most decisive player. Two hits, two doubles, an RBI, four total bases, a solid defensive presence despite an error, and above all an offensive impact that set the pace for the entire game.
Game 2: Nice 11-4 Grenoble
Emma Flayol, in the circle, pitches a remarkably clean game: 5 innings, only 4 hits allowed, 1 earned run, 3 strikeouts.
Offensively, Nice delivers a perfectly orchestrated performance. Sandra Dymowiez, patient and incisive, gets three walks, scores twice, and drives in a run. Emma Ledin hits a single, scores twice, and continues to be one of the most regular players of the weekend. Then comes Anaisie Bugna: two hits, two doubles, two RBIs, two walks, three runs scored; a complete performance.
Juliette Peculier adds a hit, an RBI, two walks, a stolen base. Charlotte Gonfrier hits a single and drives in two runs. Audrey Bertrand, despite a single at-bat, gets a walk, scores a run, and drives in another with a perfectly placed contact.
Nice only hits five times… but scores 11 runs thanks to exceptional discipline: 13 walks obtained, rare patience, a capacity to punish every Grenoble error.
Offensively, Grenoble tries to exist: Diane Simon hits two singles and a walk, Hermine Boudousq scores twice and steals a base, Ellie Bouis hits a clean single, Lauryne Paladini-Emo drives in a run with a well-placed contact.
The Khaleesi of the match: Anaisie Bugne: she carried the offense with a regularity and presence that dictated the entire pace of the game.
In the next round, the duel between the Pharaonnes d’Évry-Courcouronnes and the Grizzlys de Grenoble will pit two teams against each other where every inning now counts double, one to stay in touch with the leading duo, the other to save their skin in D1. In Saint-Raphaël, the Panthères de Pessac will attempt to catch the Comanches, always formidable at home, and have a serious option for the final. Finally, the trip of the Wildcats de Colombes to the field of the Cavigal de Nice could weigh heavily in the fight for survival.
Sébastien Dondé.
Photo credits: FFBS website, club social networks; standings design: Lucas Arrighi.
