On Thursday the four-day Challenge de France in Senart started with the first four games.
The big surprise of the day was the 3-2 win of the French Cubs Chartres against the Montpellier Barracudas. Montpellier took a quick 2-0 lead in the fourth, but Chartres tied the contest in the sixth and got ahead 3-2 in the seventh. Veteran Remigio Leal got the win with four scoreless innings of relief.
In the other matchups the favorites won. The Rouen Huskies defeated the Arvernes Clermont-Ferrand 11-1. Luc Piquet scored three times. Larry Infante went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI. Pablo Ossandon pitched six strong innings for the win.
Stade Toulousain scored four runs in the second and third en route to a 5-2 victory over Paris UC. Benoit Riera got the win in relief of Samuel Meurant. Maximin Monbeig got charged with the loss.
Also the Templiers Senart celebrated a lopsided win. They scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth in an 11-1 win over the Savigny Lions. Eight different batters scored at least a run. Matthieu Brelle-Andrade pitched five no-hit innings for the win. Geider Bacelis took the loss.