The Challengers U15-Cadets were victorious in both games this weekend taking the first game against the Blackhawks by a score of 8-0 and battling a very tough Unicorns team in the second game for a 9-7 victory. They now stand at 7-1 and combined with a Viking loss against Ruemlang this weekend they are tied for first place in the East Division.
In the opening game, Michael Iacono and Sebastian Bonger combined to pitch a no-hitter against the Blackhawks, facing just 18 batters in 5 innings. Iacono got the win and struck out 5 in the first three innings and Bonger closed out the last two making some great defensive plays himself.
Offensive firepower was provided by Cedric Thommen who hit two triples, scored two runs and had 2 RBI’s. Iacono also had a big day at the plate going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored.  The game broke open in the second inning with 5 runs scored including Iacono, Seb Bonger, Tobias Bonger, Julius Blom and Thommen.
In the second game the Challengers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first. Thommen walked and worked quickly around the bases and scored on a passed ball. Jake Tuckner then walked and scored on an RBI single by Tobias Haynor. Haynor scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Seb Bonger. Iacono and Alex Homburg also got in on the scoring act in the inning. The Challengers added a couple more runs in the second and third innings and seemed to have the game well in hand when the Unicorns exploded for 5 runs in the third making it a very exciting two run game.
Thommen scored again in the fourth to make it an 8-5 game and then Jake Tuckner came in to pitch and shut down the Unicorns 1-2-3 in the fourth.  Seb Bonger scored in the sixth to give Tuckner a 4 run cushion.  In the bottom of the final inning the heart of the Unicorns order scored two more runs but with the backing of a strong defense Tuckner shut them down.
On the mound Iacono got the win and struck out 6 batters in 3 innings.  Tuckner struck out 3 in two innings pitched and got the save.
After the game coach Todd Tuckner was asked about the keys to the game, “The team pitched very well, made some great defensive plays, and really closed out in a gutsy fashion in a tough game with the momentum turning against us.”
Congratulations to the Challengers Cadets and good luck in the final weekend of the season on 24 June at Wil.

The Cadets made a strong showing this weekend winning their opening game 10-0 versus the Wil Devils and then winning the afternoon game 10-0 against the Huenenberg Unicorns.
In the first game the scoring started when Ryan Ciemny walked and then scored on an RBI single by Michael Iacono. In the second inning the Cadets bats exploded Alex Homburg singled and scored, Marcel Zuberbühler also singled and scored. Jake Namovich and Jake Tuckner both were walked and then got batted home on singles by Tobias Haynor, Ryan Ciemny, and Michael Iacono. In the third inning Tobias Bonger led off with a single followed by a double off the bat of Sebastian Bonger and both moved quickly around the bases to score. Haynor finished off the games scoring with an RBI double.
Namovich started and got the win with Seb Bonger closing out the game by striking out the side in the fourth inning.
In the second game against a strong Unicorns team the story line was the pitching as Ryan Ciemny and Iacono combined to strike out 11 of 16 batters that they faced.
The offensive punch was provided by Toby Haynor who went 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs and scoring two runs, Seb Bonger was 2 for 3 with a double and 3 RBI’s and also scored a run. Michael Iacono scored 3 runs.
Overall it was a great day with surprisingly nice weather. We were glad to see some real break out performances at the plate this weekend with Alex Homburg going 2 for 4, Seb Bonger was 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI’s, and Toby Haynor had the monster bat going 5 for 6 with a double and 4 RBI’s.

The Challengers/Truckstars Juniors won both games of a double header against the Cardinals/Frogs on June 9. The first game was won 5-2 and the second game was 11-3.
In the first game of the day all of the scoring was completed in the first inning of the game. Jake Tuckner walked and worked quickly around the bases scoring on a passed ball. Ivan Calcagna, Tobias Bonger and Julian Thomet all walked to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Nolan Thommen hit an RBI single scoring Calcagna, then Fabian Leonhardt walked to score Bonger. Ugo Tholome then hit a single to drive in Thomet, and Tuckner closed out the inning when he ripped a single to score Thommen.
For the rest of the game the Juveniles bats were quiet but Julian Thomet pitched 3 efficient innings giving up only two runs and Jake Tuckner closed out the last two innings striking out of 6 of 8 batters he faced.
The offense was more lively in the second game with Tuckner hitting an RBI Single and scoring 3 times. Jayfry Meier was 1 for 2 with 2 runs scored and Theiler scored 2 runs as well. Calcagna, Bonger, Thommen, and Leonhardt all got in on the scoring act crossing the plate for one run each.
Cedric Theiler had his pitching debut giving up only one run in the first inning. Manabu Rohr then came in to pitch two good innings giving up only two runs. Jake Tuckner then closed the last two innings by striking out five.
Congratulations to the Juveniles who are now 4-0 on the season.

In the first double  header of the season, the Juveniles swept the Therwil Flyers with a 7-0 win in the first game and a 9-7 win in the nightcap.
In game 1, the Challengers/TruckStar started slow as they worked out the rust from a long winter.  Only 1 run was scored in the first 3 innings as lead off hitter Jake Tuckner singled and worked quickly around the bases scoring on a passed ball.  In the fourth inning the Challengers/TruckStar added 2 more as Will Ciemny and Marc Tsukroff both scored.  The big inning was the final one as Tuckner singled, and Nolan Thommen walked to put two runners in place.  Then Ciemny delivered an RBI singled followed by a 2 RBI triple from Tsukroff. Tsukroff then finished up the scoring on a fielder’s choice hit by Tobias Bonger.
Jayfry Meier had a big day in his Challenger debut going 2 for 3 with a double and a triple. Julian Thomet started at pitcher and got the win and Jake Tuckner finished it off with 3 strong innings in relief.
In the second game the Challengers bats exploded right from the start with 4 runs in the first inning, 3 in the second and one each in the third and fourth innings.  Tuckner was 2 for 3 with a double that nearly cleared the fence and scored 3 runs.  Ciemny also hit big going 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and scored 2 runs.  Tsukroff ripped 2 doubles which bounced over the fence and both knocked in runs, he also scored one run.  Felix Paesler from the Truckstar also had a double and scored a run.
Julian Thomet and Manabu Rohr combined for 4 nearly flawless innings of pitching giving up only 1 hit and one walk.
The Flyers made a game of it in the final inning as they put together 7 runs but in the end the effort fell short as Ciemny caught a line drive at first to end the game.
Congratulations to the Challenger/Truckstar on their opening weekend win.

On Saturday 19 May, the Challenger cadets lost a close game to the Wittenbach Vikings by a score of 9-7 but came back strong against the Black Hawks with a 16-3 win.
In the opening game Jake Namovich started the scoring with a walk and then working his way around the bases to score on a passed ball.  In the top of the third the Vikings had a big 4 run inning including a 3 run homer by Lengwiler.  However, the Challengers came right back in the bottom of the third with a two run homer off the bat of Ryan Ciemny.  In the fourth inning the Vikings added two more runs off some costly fielding errors.  Once again in the bottom of the fourth the big bat of Ryan Ciemny ripped a 2 RBI double scoring Sebastian Bonger and Marcel Zuberbühler.  In the final inning the Vikings put up three more runs making the score 9-5.  Unfortunately the Challengers could only muster two runs in the final stanza with both Namovich and Seb Bonger scoring before the Viking defense shut down our bats.
Ryan Ciemny pitched 3 strong innings and the game was closed out by Jake Namovich.
In the second game of the day the Challengers jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back against the Black Hawks.  Jake Tuckner scored 3 runs, Will Ciemny scored 2 runs, and Ryan Ciemny had another monster game going 2 for 3 with a double, 2 RBI’s and scoring 3 runs.  Tobias Haynor got on base 4 times and scored all 4 with some efficient base running.  Marc Tsukroff was 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored.  Alex Homburg also got a single and scored and Marcel Zuberbühler scored after walking to get on base.
Namovich and Tsukroff each pitched two very strong innings and Seb Bonger finished the game on the mound, closing out the final inning by facing only 4 batters.
Overall a good weekend for the Challengers. Next doubleheader is 10 June.