Undefeated Rouen Wins Challenge de France, Savigny Second
The Rouen Huskies added yet another French baseball trophy to the club’s cup cabinet, winning all four of its games in the country’s annual tournament. Along the way, it survived an extra-inning thriller with Savigny-sur-Orge and claimed a 2-1 nailbiter against the Sénart Templiers in a rematch of the 2021 French baseball Division I Championship. Savigny proved that its strong regular season play to that point was no fluke with its rugged game against the Huskies and victories over the Cougars de Montigny and Montpellier. Since the cup, the Lions have won every one of its six games, moving into first place Pool A.
Iván Acuña (.313/.500/.688) was the top slugger of the tournament, launching a pair of longballs for the Lions, which collectively hit half of the four dingers at the event. Montigny’s Baptiste Blancot (.545/.583/.818) and Rouen’s Hugo Blondel (.400/.526/.733) tied for the lead in doubles (3) and had the second-most hits (6) at the Challenge, the former leading the cup in average. Rouen’s Javier Hernández drew a whopping nine walks in four games, also topping the charts in on-base percentage (.750) and slugging (.857).
Results [Box Scores]
Group A Results
May 26: Toulouse 1 – Sénart 3
May 26: La Rochelle 3 – Montpellier 8
May 27: Toulouse 5 – La Rochelle 6
May 27: Montpellier 9 – Sénart 3
Group B Results
May 26: Metz 1 – Rouen 14 (7)
May 26: Montigny 3 – Savigny 6
May 27: Metz 12 – Montigny 13 (10)
May 27: Savigny 6 – Rouen 7 (10)
Playoffs
Semifinal (May 28): Savigny 6 – Montpellier 5
Semifinal (May 28): Sénart 1 – Rouen 2
Final (May 29): Rouen 11 – Savigny 2
Final Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | RF | RA | +/- |
| Rouen Baseball 76 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 34 | 10 | 24 |
| Savigny-sur-Orge Lions | 2 | 2 | .500 | 20 | 26 | -6 |
| MUC Barracudas | 2 | 1 | .667 | 22 | 12 | 10 |
| Sénart Templiers | 1 | 2 | .333 | 7 | 12 | -5 |
| Stade Toulousain | 0 | 2 | .000 | 6 | 9 | -3 |
| Metz Cometz | 0 | 2 | .000 | 13 | 27 | -14 |
