Baseball This Week in Quebec: A One-of-a-Kind Player on the Diamants

September kicks off with a bang, featuring league baseball games almost everywhere in Quebec. The various leagues are in playoff mode, and the coming days will feature several thrilling games at stadiums across the province.

To kick things off, the first major championship series of the 2026 season will take place in the Puribec League. After defeating Témiscouata, the Rivière-du-Loup team will now face Kamouraska for the coveted title. The first game of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Rivière-du-Loup.

The key players for Ciel FM will undoubtedly be, once again, forwards Juan Borras and Paulo Henrique Noris. Kamouraska, for its part, reached the final after a victory over Matane in the decisive game of the previous series. Industries Desjardins has stood out particularly on offense thanks to the scoring of Jérémie Maillé-Bizier and Charles-Étienne Lemelin. Both players rank highly in various offensive categories. All the ingredients are in place for a thrilling series, worthy of Quebec's oldest amateur league.

In the Junior Elite division, things are heating up after a first round that saw Granby and Jonquière eliminated. The winners, Charlesbourg and Coaticook, will therefore advance directly to the second round to face the other teams that have already qualified for this stage.

In a best-of-five series, the quarterfinals will pit Trois-Rivières against Laval, as well as Saint-Eustache against Longueuil. The other matchups on the schedule will feature Repentigny versus Coaticook. Finally, the last matchup will be between Charlesbourg and Québec.

If you're passing through Québec, a ticket to see the Diamants is well worth the detour. The reason is simple: the team boasts the talented Zachari Houde. A provincial track and field champion in the 100-meter dash, the outfielder has also recorded over 100 stolen bases in his LBJÉQ career. This is tangible proof that multidisciplinary sports still have a place among us.

In conclusion, the betting is now on to see who will advance to the next round in the Rodger Brulotte circuit.

The LBMQ is no exception to the rule, with its playoff run having begun last weekend. Despite the best-of-three format, the first round concluded with the minimum number of games played in each series.

Victoriaville thus advances to the next round after eliminating Thetford. The Cactus will now face Brock from Drummondville. In the other matchup, the expected outcome played out as the Cardinals were eliminated by the Pirates. The defending champions, the Acton Vale Castors, will therefore be Saint-Jean's next opponents.

Finally, after defeating Sherbrooke, Shawinigan also advances to the second round, where they'll now face Coaticook.

It's worth noting that the matchup between Granby and Montreal had already been announced earlier by the league. At the time of this writing, Acton Vale, Victoriaville, Montreal, and Coaticook had taken the lead in their respective series.

As the only league still active in the regular season, the Frontier League continues to hold our attention, particularly with the presence of the Aigles and the Capitales. Quebec's sole professional league is therefore wrapping up its final week of action this week.

Quebec City is already in playoff mode, and the season's final series will take place on the road in New York. With nothing truly at stake, the final games will serve more as preparation for the upcoming playoff run.

In the Mauricie region, the final weekend of action will be played at home—fingers crossed that the weather cooperates so that Trois-Rivières fans can see their team one last time in 2026.

Since the ambassadors of our sport are a hot topic in this column, we'll take this opportunity today to introduce you to Michael Bélanger's latest project. Bélanger has just launched the La Meute Baseball Academy.

The renowned coach aims to offer his services on Montreal's South Shore alongside the excellent Steve Boulay. Together, they bring many years of combined experience in the world of baseball.

The new academy aims to provide a wide range of services, both individually for athletes and collectively for baseball organizations. You can follow the progress of this new project on their Facebook page.

• Andréanne Leblanc hit the first walk-off home run in WPBL history. The feat is all the more extraordinary because it was a grand slam.
• The sad story of Clovis Poirier deserves our full attention. You can click the link to read the player's story and contribute if you wish.
• Next Monday, September 7, will feature the final games of the adapted baseball season. Both games will be played at Messier Park in Drummondville.
• In the women's division of the Canada East League, the Braves ultimately won the most recent playoff championship.
• Marc Griffin has been named technical director of the Mortagne baseball sports-study program.

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