In the 3rd round of this year’s Swiss Cup, the Challengers lost the final game at the Heerenschürli 13-3 against their cross-town rivals Zürich Barracudas. Nderim Coma dominated the Challengers’ bats, and Andi Rüesch came up big for the Cudas with two homers and two singles in four trips to the plate, collecting six RBI’s along the way. It was the very last game on the Old Heerenschürli field before the renewal of the Heerenschürli sports facilities. The opening of the new field will take place in spring 2010.
Continue Reading » Swiss Cup: Farewell to Old Heerenschürli with derbyAuthor: chris
Pilots split at Wittenbach
Im ersten Spiel war Wil’s Pitching einfach zu überlegen; ansonsten spielten wir gar nicht schlecht, verloren aber trotzdem 6:0. Gegen die Vikings zeigten wir dann eine wirklich tolle Partie. Wir waren auf allen Positionen voll konzentriert, Pitching und Catching waren überzeugend, und wir bauten die Führung kontinuierlich aus. Jeder, aber wirklich jeder Spieler leistete einen positiven Beitrag zum 11:6 Sieg. Es war ein einwandfreies Spiel, an dem es nichts zu kritisieren gibt. Ich hoffe, unsere Jungs werden sich in zwei Wochen beim nächsten Spiel daran erinnern.
Continue Reading » Pilots split at WittenbachThe Cadets’ dominant streak continues
The Challengers Cadets team once again made the statement that they are the team to beat this year by collecting two blow-out wins on Saturday, May 24th in Wil. Rookie Korey Kovac’s and captain Gabe Staub’s amazing pitching performance is exactly what the Challengers needed to beat the Kobras in Game 1. The two pitchers combined for the Cadets first no-hitter since last years game against the Indians. Kovac gave up only three walks while striking out four in three innings as the Challengers easily took out the Kobras 17-0. Staub then finished the game with a two strikeout fourth. The Cadets also ran all over the Kobras and finished Game 1 with 17 stolen bases. Carl Varnauskas stole five bases, but the Challengers hitting highlight was Brent Jozwiak’s three for four day. Jozwiak had two doubles and knocked in four while crossing the plate three times.
The Cadets did not stop swinging and pitching in the second game against the Lions/Rainbows/Bandits as they walked off the field with a one-hitter, 16-0 win. Once again Kovac brought his A-game to the field and threw another three quality innings giving up only two walks and striking out three. Alex Merlini fourth inning appearance on the mound got off to a great start by striking out the first batter. He then gave up the C’s only hit, a shot to right-center which went for a triple. Gabe Staub then showed that he is Switzerland’s top catcher prospect by picking off the baserunner on third three pitches later. The pitchers only pitched to a total of 13 batters over four innings, Staub caught another runner on second which helped his pitchers cruise through. The Challengers batters showed extreme discipline at the plate by striking out only three times. The Cadets also hit five triples, Varnauskas had two, Staub added another two and “newbie” Danilo Schneider also hit his first three-baser of the season.
Cadets add two in winning column
The Cadets won twice on Saturday, May 17 at Rapperswil-Jona improving their record to 4-0. After beating the Vikings/Devils 15-1, the Challengers held on for a 11-6 victory against the Lions/Bandits/Rainbows in what was a rematch of last year’s final.
The Zürich Pilots lost 9-10 to the Sissach Frogs on Sunday, May 18. The Pilots erased a five run deficit but blew a two-run lead in the bottom of the last inning to eventually lose 9-10.
1.Liga-Team stays at .500
The 1.Liga-Team won 24-5 against the Jona Bandits, after losing 4-5 to the Embrach Rainbows in Game 1 on Sunday, May 18 at Embrach. The C’s have now a 3-3 record.
Continue Reading » 1.Liga-Team stays at .500Challengers reach .500 with sweep over Frogs
A sweep over the Sissach Frogs on Sunday, May 18 put the Challengers at .500 (5-5) for the first time since opening day. Chris Palatinus had four hits and Jesus Martinez belted a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 6-3, while Thomas Burger (2-3) allowed four runs – three earned – and five hits with five strikeouts in seven innings, as the C’s posted a 10-4 victory in Game 1. Säntis Zeller and Patrick Zöllig had three hits apiece and Martinez hit a drive over the center-field fence for his fourth homer of the season, while Andy Fleischacker (1-1) tossed five solid innings for the win, as the C’s cruised to a 9-1 victory in Game 2.
Continue Reading » Challengers reach .500 with sweep over FrogsPilots edged by Frogs
Das erste Inning spielten wir extrem unkonzentriert, und nach zahllosen Errors lagen wir bereits mit 0-5 zurück. Im zweiten Inning erwachten wir und holten kontinuierlich auf, und vor der zweiten Hälfte des letzten Innings führten wir schliesslich mit 9-7. Leider waren wir nicht imstande, genügend Druck zu machen, um diesen Spielstand hinüberzuretten, und wir verloren das Spiel mit 10-9.
Das heutige Spiel war eine Lehrstunde, wie man ein Spiel wegen sich selber verlieren kann. Mit groben Unkonzentriertheiten und schlechtem Fielding in der Anfangsphase besiegten wir uns selber. Das Gute an diesem Spiel ist, dass die Kids sehr viel daraus lernen werden.
Challengers vs. Frogs
The NLA-Team (3-5) will face the Sissach Frogs (1-3) on Sunday, May 18 in what will be the last league game for the Challengers at the Old Heerenschürli. The games start at 11am and 2pm.
The 1.Liga-Team (2-2) travels to Embrach on Sunday, May 18 where they will face the Jona Bandits and the Embrach Rainbows. The games start at 10am and 12.30pm at Klinik Hard.
The U15 Cadets head to Rapperswil-Jona on Saturday, May 17 where they will play against the Vikings/Devils (2pm) and the Lions/Rainbows/Bandits in a rematch of last year’s playoff final series (4pm). The Zurich Pilots will play their third game of the season on Sunday at Wil. The U12-team with players from the Embrach Rainbows, the Zurich Lions and the Challengers will face the Sissach Frogs at noon.
National Team played friendly game
The Swiss National Team played a double-header against the Neuenburg Atomics from the 1. German Bundesliga on Whit Monday. After Chris Beyeler, Beni Montag and Thomas Burger combined for a shutout, as the team of head coach Chris Palatinus won 2-0 in Game 1, the Swiss lost Game 2.
Continue Reading » National Team played friendly gameLadies off to best start in team history
The Softball-Team has built the best start in team history, after sweeping the Hünenberg Unicorns on Sunday, May 4. The C’s are 6-0 for the first time since the team was founded in 2004. Previously, their most wins to start a season was four in 2006. Karin Mittelstädt had three hits and Corinne Wengi and Flavia Von Meiss drove in two runs, while Leandra Simitovic and Andrea Wirth combined for a three-hitter, as the Challengers took Game 1 by 11-4. Simona Cellar highlighted Game 2 with four hits and four RBI’s, while Alexia Zingg and Simitovic scored five runs apiece, as the C’s cruised to their sixth win in a row with a 23-10 victory. Simitovic pitched 3 1/3 strong innings allowing two hits with six strikeouts and no walks for her sixth win of the season. The Challengers face next the Wil Devils on June 15 at the Klopstockwiese.
Continue Reading » Ladies off to best start in team history