A break for women’s softball, but not for men’s softball, which resumes with a round in Pessac, Aquitaine. On the baseball side, two big matchdays for D1 and D2.
Division 1 Baseball
The leader changed last weekend, shifting from La Rochelle to Toulouse. Montigny continued their losing streak. Metz showed their growing strength. Sénart regained some confidence. As for Savigny, Rouen, and Montpellier, they continue to progress and hold their ground in the middle of the standings, closing the gap with the top teams.
What will happen this weekend?
Montpellier hosts Toulouse. Early-season injuries have weakened both teams. Based on early results, Toulouse seems to have the upper hand over Montpellier. It’s likely that ace Owen Ozanich will take the mound.
Owen Ozanich for Montpellier:
I think we played very well overall. Obviously, we’re missing some key players, especially on the road. Kevin showed why he’s the league’s best pitcher, and Yoan kept heating up at the plate. Now we’re eager to play at home and have a few more players available for next weekend’s matches against Toulouse.
Yanael Delpech for Toulouse:
A positive balance, of course, with this very important victory in the first match, which was decided by a razor-thin margin. It’s always very tough to bounce back in a doubleheader after a game like that. The team showed great determination after our ace went down in the first inning, with the veterans stepping up. Now we need to maintain this momentum and be consistent in our results. We know inconsistency cost us last year, especially on the road. We know we’ll face tough matches every weekend, and we’ll need to stay the course.
Editor’s Prediction: Split between the two teams
La Rochelle travels to Savigny
The Lions are getting sharper every day and dominating at the plate. The Rochelais started this championship stronger than ever but also suffered a heavy blow. A match abandoned due to overconfidence against Metz and an extremely close game that ended on a walk-off at the plate, decided by a razor-thin margin, knocked them down. Their winning streak has cracked, and Savigny could well take advantage of these chinks in their armor, which are providing plenty of errors. Showdown between the league’s top two pitchers: Clément Esteban for La Rochelle and Gédéon Coste for Savigny.
Ivan Acuna for Savigny:
In the first match, our offense exploded, and Gedeon continues to give us strong outings. In the second match, we struggled to execute with runners on third. Our pitchers continue to be excellent. We keep working to improve throughout the season.
Pablo Ossandon for La Rochelle:
Hard to bounce back after the first match, which we lost on a controversial game-deciding play. Then we let the second match slip, unable to recover. Our reaction must come quickly to regain our winning spirit.
Editor’s Prediction: Savigny wins both matches and takes the lead in the standings
Metz can finally host the Templiers of Sénart
These two teams have fought to regain confidence. A few wins have shown them a simple truth: it’s possible. Metz has a chance to join the middle of the standings at home, with Yeixon Ruiz putting up exceptional batting stats.
Julien Brelle Andrade for Sénart:
The team rose to the occasion in this first challenge against a direct classification rival. These two wins allow us to nearly catch up to the teams positioned 4th, 5th, and 6th with their .500 ratio.
In the first match, after a very strong performance by Emile Brelle on the mound for 8 innings, the offense did what was needed to tie the score in the 9th, then win on a walk-off base hit by Jordan Ouanyou.
The second match was more comfortable to manage with many points scored. But Montigny’s late rally shows we still need to improve our bullpen.
We need to go for two wins in Metz next weekend to gain at least one spot in the standings and stay in contention for the playoffs.
David Ten Eyck for Metz:
We must stay humble, because we still have a lot of work to do in all phases of the game. But we are of course happy to be at 3-3 after a string of tough away games. We see the fruits of the work done this winter, and the mental strength of our team. If we continue to be demanding of ourselves and work with the same intensity we have since last October, we will have a very successful season.
Editor’s Prediction: Metz wins both matchups
Rouen travels to Montigny
Nothing is going right for Montigny, and the task ahead of Rouen will be very tough. Little by little, the strength and pride of the Cougars will awaken, and their ace will be determined to pitch a big game to finally open their win column. Rouen is focusing on organizing the France Challenge, which will take place next week at their home stadium, and this will be their main objective to regain the European Cup.
Dylan Mayeux for Montigny:
Disappointing once again, we’re structuring the team bit by bit, but the start of the season hasn’t been easy for everyone
Editor’s Prediction: Split between the two teams
Broadcast: Only Montpellier will broadcast their matches against Toulouse.
Division 2 Baseball
5th matchday for this championship, which has 14 rounds. The two pools continue to highlight two teams: Valenciennes for Pool A and Béziers for Pool B. Behind them, it’s a battle: in Pool A, four teams are fighting for the second spot: Bréal, Sénart, Rouen, Puc.
In Pool B, Clermont and Nice are in the same situation.
With the exception of the Clermont-Béziers duel, all other teams already have a significant gap in the standings. So we should see Pool A remain more or less in the same order. However, if Béziers can pull off the double victory on the road, the turning point of Pool B could be decided.
Men’s Softball Division 1
6th matchday of the round. Toulouse seems to have an inability this year to raise their level, and Montpellier can try to take the opportunity to distance themselves from Pessac. However, the latter are playing at home. Nice is not playing. The double confrontation between Pessac and Montpellier will be the attraction of the day.
