The Division 2 championship kicks off on March 25th. Two pools will compete throughout the season. 14 matchdays for Pool A, featuring seven teams: Dunkerque, Ronchin, La Guerche, Thiais, Valenciennes, Rouen 2, and Sénart 2. 10 matchdays for Pool B with six teams: Meysieu, La Rochelle 2, Eysines, Béziers, Clermont, and Anglet.
The top two teams from each pool will face off in the best-of-five semi-finals over the first two weekends in September. The final will follow on the last two weekends of September, also in a best-of-five format.
The uneven number of teams means the number of matchdays will be unbalanced. The withdrawal of Montpellier from Pool B, the southern region pool, is the cause. One can speculate about this surprising withdrawal, as this club has been in Division 2 since 2018: player numbers, financial difficulties, declining human resources. The choice is made out of prudence to preserve this club’s showcase in Division 1 and in softball as well, and to perform with its baseball school.
The 2022 champion is Clermont Ferrand, a club that chose not to promote to Division 1 for reasons of securing human and financial resources. Valenciennes, as the 2022 runner-up, will also be a formidable opponent. However, the number of matchdays, the semi-finals, and finals in a best-of-five format (in 2022, best-of-three) will offer us spectators a championship that should shake up the hierarchies and open opportunities to younger clubs in this competition.
On the players and coaches front, announcements are still a bit timid.
The communication of final rosters is broad in terms of date compared to the start of the championship, allowing clubs to play their cards until almost March 20th.
Here’s what we know so far:
Valenciennes:
Andrew Paten is a pitcher and outfielder from Columbia, Missouri. At 6’2″ and 209 lbs, Andrew is fast and powerful both on the mound and at the plate.
He attended four schools but recently finished at Columbia College, where he was named Player of the Year as a two-way player and for his contribution to qualifying his team for the regional competition. He also played for the Bismark Larks last summer and was the runner-up for Lark of the Year. In 2022, he pitched 81 innings with 82 strikeouts and hit 7 home runs with a .321 batting average and a .955 OPS.
Tom Newbold is a 20-year-old Australian from Sydney. He’s a versatile player who can play anywhere on the field, infield, outfield, and even as a pitcher, but he’s primarily an infielder.
He currently plays in the most competitive amateur league in New South Wales, the Sydney region.
He is the captain of his team, the Manly Eagles. He has incredible stats at the plate, leading the championship with a .391 batting average and a .480 on-base percentage, and second in slugging with .500.
He has already played with our coach William Swindling on the same team.
As for the 2021 champion and runner-up, Thiais and Béziers respectively, no announcements have been made yet.
The players of the Pole France de Toulouse
As for La Rochelle, no announcements have been made except that several players from the Pole France will join the Division 2 team, notably because Montpellier will not use them due to its withdrawal.
No announcements have been made yet for the other clubs.
If you wish to communicate, do not hesitate to send us your information at: redaction@baseballtv.fr
As for match broadcasts, we can expect live coverage in Valenciennes and Meysieu. In Rouen, Sénart, and La Rochelle, this may happen depending on the availability of volunteers. Every year, the quality and number of live broadcasts improve.
