Illustrative image of the article: A rare photo. PUC deep in thought.
Above: the D1 roster of the Montigny LB Cougars.
Weekend of July 30-31, all of France is wondering if it will survive a heatwave called summer, which « vitaminated » product in particular will win the Tour de France and how the D1 2022 play-downs will unfold.
While the four best teams of this season battled it out in La Rochelle and Rouen for the semi-finals, six less fortunate teams faced off to finalize the definitive standings. From 5th to last.
Above: the Cougars pull it off…
Montigny (2-0) – Toulouse (0-2)
So this is the story of a baseball team that hits the road in Occitanie to make its way to Montigny-le-Bretonneux in the Yvelines (670 km one way). Everything goes well there. There are two games to play. There’s salsa, dust, and base hits. The visitors are happy; they win the first game 7-4. The next day, they do it again, securing a second victory 2-1! They can make the return trip blasting Dominican tunes all the way. And then « carajo » the Stade only had 3 wins this season! Except that in fact, no, they didn’t win. They even lost both games on a technicality: 9-0 and 9-0.
Above: Mendoza Stade Toulousain.
A dark story of an illegal player, apparently. As unlikely as imagining a muskrat crossing the grand salon of the Élysée Palace during an inauguration ceremony, compared to the disappointment of the southerners.
Sénart (1-2) – Metz (2-1)
It seems like the baseball world has changed its rotation. Sénart dropped two games to Cometz out of the three played! Whatever happened to the finalists against Brno? Those who thought like me that Cometz could spring a surprise… With 11 hits, the Templiers won the first game 8-7. We thought logic would prevail. Then Metz had a surge of pride in the second game and won the afternoon 19-6 with 4 errors by Sénart! 10 base hits for Cometz against 9 for the home team.
Above: a rising star with Cometz, Frulloni A. U18. He batted .346 this season.
The cherry on the Comet is that the visitors took the third game with a second victory 14-10 in an error festival… 7 for the Templiers and 4 for Metz…
PUC (1-1) Nice (1-1)
The two bottom teams of the championship neutralized each other at Pershing Stadium. With a first victory for PUC 17-7. Enrione-Thor’s home run and his 3-for-4 weren’t enough. Montas’ 3-for-3 wasn’t either. Nice lifted its chin and secured its second D1 victory in the afternoon: 2-8 with 5 Parisian errors.
Below: Jonathan Montas Nice Cavigals.
Next weekend, the Cavigals will face PUC again in Nice. The Cougars will host Metz. And the Templiers, Toulouse. Unusual duels. That’s also the magic of the play-downs.
Vincent Picard
