The Zürich Barracudas (11-1) won the first of two night games against the Challengers (4-6) on Wednesday, June 11 at the Heerenschürli ballpark, extending their winning streak to 11 games and handing the C's a tough-luck loss, as the Cudas posted a 5-4 victory.
The C's tied the game twice in the third and in the seventh inning, battled for more than three hours and outhit their opponent 11-3. Still it wasn't enough to overcome the hottest team in the league. The Challengers took the lead in the bottom of the fifth, as Ryan Byrne delivered one of two triples and Eidrys Reyes drove him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. But in the sixth, the C's had their one bad inning they often had this year, enabling the Barracudas to score three runs for a 4-2 lead.
The Challengers weren't done yet. Ryan Byrne belted an RBI-triple to score Rob Sedin, and Tobias Siegrist followed with an RBI-single to tie the game at 4-4 in the seventh. In the end, an RBI ground out in the top of the eighth broke the tie and starter Chris Michals shut the door to bring in a complete game win.
Rob Sedin allowed five runs and only three hits while striking out four. He also led the offense with three hits, while Byrne and Reyes had two hits apiece. The two teams will play another night game on Friday, June 13 at the Heerenschürli ballpark witth the game starting at 7pm.
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Challengers edged by Barracudas
Challengers split with Flyers again
The Challengers and the Therwil Flyers walked away with one win each again on Sunday, May 25 at the Heerenschürli ballpark, after the two archrivals already split one week ago at Therwil. Despite the Challengers outhit their opponent 11-10 in Game 1 the scoreboard told otherwise. Scoring four runs in the fifth and another four runs in the ninth inning, as the Flyers posted an 8-2 victory over the C's.
Like one week ago, Game 2 was again a pitcher's duel. Robert Sedin and the Challengers saved the day, as the C's answered with a close 3-2 win to impove their record to 4-5 to keep pace with the playoff spots. Sedin gave up two runs and seven hits with four walks and four strikeouts in eight plus innings, while Ryan Byrne worked in and out of troubles in the ninth for his first save in a Challengers uniform. The C's will face next the Zürich Barracudas for two night games on June 11 and 13 at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
NLA-Team splits with Flyers
The NLA-Team ended up splitting the doubleheader with the Therwil Flyers on Sunday, May 18 at Therwil. Two homers by Jesus Martinez and another one from Ryan Byrne helped the Challengers win Game 1 as the C's posted an 12-7 victory over the Flyers.
In Game 2, the crowd saw a pitchers' duel with the Flyers coming out at the better end of it, edging the C's 3-1. The Challengers remain in fifth place with a 3-4 record. Both teams will face each other again on Sunday, May 25 at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
Challengers win local derby 14-1
The Challengers stopped their three game losing-streak with an easy 14-1 win over the Zürich Lions on Saturday, May 3, but it wasn't an easy game day at all. The start of the double header has been delayed twice due to rain for a total of three hours. Instead of a double header only a single game was played.
The C's opened the game with a single from Eidrys Reyes and scored twice in the first inning. And they never looked back en route to a 14-1 victory. Starter Harry Bregy gave up only one earned run in the bottom of the first inning, but that was all Bregy and the bullpen allowed, as Thomas Burger and Ryan Byrne added three scoreless innings of relief. Head coach Chris Palatinus was pleased with the performance. "The guys did, what I wanted them to do. It's never easy to stay focused with the freezing weather and the delays, especially when you have a big lead", Palatinus said. The C's are now tied for fourth palce with a 2-3 record. No make-up date has been announced so far for Game 2 of the double header.
C’s lose twice to Eagles
The Challengers were downed by the Luzern Eagles on Sunday, April 13, as the Eagles swept the C's winning 11-4 and 11-9. The games were overshadowed by an injury of second baseman Eidrys Reyes in Game 2. Running for a blooper Reyes and right fielder Carlos Nepomuceno collided heavily. Reyes broke down and had to be taken to the hospital with a strong suspicion of concussion. The game continued after a 1 hour injury delay with the Eagles tying the game first and eventually walking away with an 11-9 win in extra-innings – more than eight hours after the first pitch of the day.
The Eagles already took Game 1, as they immediately arrived on the scoreboard scoring twice in the first frame against starter Ryan Byrne and erasing the lead to 5-1 after four innings. The C's stranded runners on third three times, while the Eagles added three runs in the eight and ninth innings delivering a total of six extra-base hits to make it 11-1 and eventually winning 11-4. The C's have now a 1-3 record after losing three in-a-row. They face next the Zürich Lions on May 3 at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
Challengers empfangen Eagles
Das NLA-Team der Challengers empfängt am Sonntag, 13. April die Luzern Eagles im Baseballstadion Heerenschürli zum ersten Heimspiel der Saison. Während die Challengers am vergangenen Wochenende die Punkte im Stadtderby mit den Barracudas geteilt haben, verzeichneten die Eagles mit zwei Siegen gegen die Zürich Lions einen perfekten Saisonstart. Unter den Zuzügen bei den Zentralschweizern figurieren mit Andrea Girasole und Patrick Maier auch zwei ehemalige Challengers Spieler. Mit Yanik Probst wird gar ein dritter ehemaliger Challengers Spieler in der Startformation stehen. Die Spiele beginnen um 11.00 und 14.00 Uhr.
Das 1.Liga-Team beginnt seine Saison am Samstag, 12. April mit einer Reise in die Hauptstadt. Die SG TruckStar/Challengers, die in ihre zweite gemeinsame Saison startet, trifft in Bern auf die Zürich Eighters West und den zweiten Anzug der Bern Cardinals. Spielbeginn ist um 12.30 und 15.00 Uhr auf der Berner Allmend.
C’s win opener, lose Game 2
The Challengers split with their cross-town rivals Zürich Barracudas on Sunday, April 6 to start their 2014 campaign. The teams fought two hard battles, as both rallied for q victory apiece. Game 1 was a pitcher's duel between Andy Rüesch for the Barracudas and Ryan Byrne for the C's, as they exchanged zeros on the scoreboard for the first six frames. The Challengers had a runner on third in four of the first seven innings, but the Barracudas opened the score on back-to-back two-out RBI-doubles to make it 2-0.
But the C's answered right away, scoring three runs in the top of the eighth frame. The Barracudas defense misplayed a bunt by Harry Bregy, enabling Jesus Martinez and Bryan Shemley to tie the game before Eidrys Reyes drove in Bregy with a sacrifice fly to right. And the C's added an insurance run in the ninth, as Tobias Siegrist brought home Robert Sedin with an RBI-double. Ryan Byrne was credited with the win in his debut for the C's, allowing only two unearned runs in seven frames, while Tobias Siegrist closed the 4-2 victory with two shutout innings.
In the Game 2 the Challengers had the better start, as Siegrist delivered a two-run double and later scored on an RBI-double by Säntis Zeller to make it 3-0. But this time the Barracudas rallied to win 4-3 for a split.
The C's will host the Luzern Eagles on Sunday, April 13 at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
Opening Day am Sonntag
Der Opening Day 2014 bringt gleich das erste Stadtderby der Saison. Am Sonntag, 6. April treffen im Baseballstadion Heerenschürli die Challengers auf den Stadtrivalen Zürich Barracudas. Dabei gibt es bekannte Gesichter in neuen Uniformen zu sehen.
Josh Crouse, Harry Wischnewski, Roger Savoldelli und Chefcoach Chris Byrnes wechselten vom Vorjahresfinalisten Embrach zu den Barracudas und Catcher Albert Marsknik zog von Bern nach Zürich. Auch die Challengers verstärkten sich mit einem ehemaligen Berner. Nationalmannschafts Pitcher Ryan Byrne gibt sein Debut für die das Team von Headcoach Chris Palatinus. Spielbeginn ist um 11.00 und 14.00 Uhr.
Auch für die U15 Cadets startet am Sonntag, 6. April die neue Saison. Nach Einsätzen an diversen Hallenturnieren trifft die SG TruckStar/Challengers auswärts auf die Jona Bandits. Die Spiele beginnen um 12.00 und 14.30 Uhr in Rapperswil-Jona Lido.
Challengers im 2. Rang
Die Challengers verloren das Finalspiel des 17. Zürcher Frühlingsturniers am Sonntag, 30. März gegen die Dominican All Stars, die das Turnier erstmals gewinnen konnten. Die Challengers erspielten sich eine frühe 2-0 Führung, leisteten sich jedoch im vierten Inning einige defensive Aussetzer, die es den Lateinamerikanern ermöglichten auf 6-2 davon zu ziehen.
In ihrem letzten Gruppenspiel am Morgen gelang den Challengers die Aufholjagd noch, als sie die Tübingen Hawks mit 11-8 bezwingen konnten. Das Team von Headcoach Chris Palatinus gewann drei seiner vier Partien am Turnier und verpasste den Turniersieg lediglich wegen eines schlechten Innings. Das Team scheint bereit zu sein für den Opening Day am Sonntag, 6. April, wo die Challengers für das erste Stadtderby auf die Zürich Barracudas treffen werden.
Challengers für Final qualifiziert
Nach Siegen gegen die Zürch Barracudas (6-1) und den Dominican All Stars (8-1) sind die Zürich Challengers als erste Mannschaft bereits für den Final vom Sonntag fix qualifiziert.
Der zweite Finalteilnehmer wird am Sonntag in den Spielen zwischen den Challengers und den Tübingen Hawks und den Dominikanern und den Barracudas ausgespielt. Gewinnen die Dominican All Stars ihr Spiel gegen die Barracudas oder verlieren die Hawks ihr Spiel gegen die Challengers sind die Dominican All Stars für das Final qualifiziert.
Um 10.00 Uhr treffen die Challengers im Baseballstadion Heerenschürli auf die Hawks, das Finale beginnt um 14.30 Uhr.