The weekend delivered its share of confirmations, surprises and outstanding individual performances across the three championships. In Division 1 Baseball, the hierarchy is starting to emerge, while men’s softball and Division 2 have already shown contrasting dynamics.
Division 1 Baseball : Montpellier en tête, Mercadier et Soriano distingués
Montpellier frappe fort. Opposés au PUC, les Barracudas ont dû batailler dans un premier affrontement dantesque, interrompu au terme de 13 manches sur un score de 13-13. Le lendemain, les Montpelliérains ont fait parler leur endurance et leur solidité pour s’imposer dans ce match à rallonge, avant de dérouler dans la seconde rencontre. Résultat : Montpellier prend les commandes du championnat, tandis que le PUC ferme la marche — non sans avoir déjà affronté deux des cadors de la compétition.
At Sénart, the positive dynamic seen last week in Toulouse was confirmed. The Templiers dominated La Rochelle during the first match, which ended by mercy rule. But true to their resilience, the Boucaniers were able to react and take the second match. The opposition was balanced, often conditioned, as is often the case, by the quality of the foreign pitchers.
In Rouen, the surprise came from Savigny, who defeated the champions during the first match, sealed in the eighth inning by a decisive double by Lilian Amoros. The second match was marked by the high-level performance of Thibault Mercadier: eight solid innings on the mound, a victory and a remarkable ERA of 0.64. With two wins in two outings, he logically becomes the pitcher of the week.
Finally, Toulouse and Béziers offered a spectacular duel. Tied at the end of nine innings, the two teams were separated in extra innings by a walk-off home run from Ariel Soriano, his second of the season. A decisive performance that earned him the title of Player of the Week. The second match was postponed due to weather conditions.
Division 1 Softball Masculin: clear differences already
The weekend confirmed very clear power relations. Contes left no chance to the Cavigal from Nice with two clear victories. Same scenario for Évry, much better than Nogent, and for Toulouse against Grenoble.
Rouen completes this series of doubles by dominating the PUC in its two games.
In the standings, Évry takes the lead of pool A, where the PUC closes the march. In pool B, Contes settles as leader, while Grenoble occupies the last place.
Division 2 Baseball : first indications, first surprises
The first day of Division 2 has already shaken some expectations. Metz, expected to be strong, lost the first game against Nice. Valenciennes, on its side, lost the opening game before bouncing back against Ermont, without, however, showing an overwhelming domination.
Rouen and Clermont neutralize each other with a draw, just like Montigny and Bréal. However, Meyzieu sends a strong message by dominating Montpellier, taking the lead in the standings at the end of this first day.
