Challengers barely overcome Frogs with 4-2 win

The Challengers and Sissach Frogs exchanged zeros on the board over the first five innings with Thomas Burger and Daniel Traina both delivering fine performances on the mound. In the end, the Challengers only needed four runs to win this one.

The Challengers scored off Traina in the top of the sixth as Chris Palatinus and Thomas Blank hit back-to-back doubles with two outs.

Blank eventually scored as right fielder Odermatt couldn't handle Carlos Peña's grounder cleanly.

The Frogs came right back in the bottom half of the inning, as Stefan Wick sent a two-run shot over the fences in deep center field, also with two outs.

But the Challengers had an answer for that. Yonimiler Martinez doubled to lead off the seventh inning, and James Sanders plated pinch runner Patrick Zöllig with another double.

With two outs, Palatinus hit his second double of the game to score Sanders for a 4-2 lead.

It turned out to be just enough, as Burger pitched a scoreless seventh, and reliever Harry Bregy closed it out with two scoreless innings.

It didn't came easy, though. Whereas he was helped by a double play in the eighth inning, the Frogs loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth. A walk, a single and a dropped third strike was all they needed to mount a threat.

But Fink popped out to Bregy to end the game.

Game notes
Burger's Game Score of 66 is his highest so far this season.