The Softball-Team lost twice against their cross-town rivals Zürich Barracudas on Sunday, June 23 at Rümlang to open a three-game series. The Barracudas celebrated an 11-0 shutout victory in Game 1, before winning Game 2 3-1.
The Challengers remain in fourth place with a 3-9 record. Game 3 of the series will be played on Tuesday night at 7pm at Rümlang.
Posts in the Softball category:
Ladies lose local derby
Softball derby rained out
For the first time this year the heavy rain and bolts were very welcome to the Challengers Softball-Team. The night game between the Challengers and the Barracudas had to be called with no outs in the bottom of the third inning after 1 hour and 52 minutes including two rain delays.
Before that a thunderstorm was already raging over the C's, as the Barracudas were leading 19-8, as crew chief Martin Ruckstuhl called the game. Giulia Oswald belted a grand slam and Morgan Suart followed with a three-run homer in a 13-run second inning for the Barracudas. Taylor Mc Cants delivered a two-run double for the Challengers, while Jennifer Montague had a RBI-triple and Ziegylou Wehrli got a double, as the C's answered with a 7-run inning of their own. Eventually Mother Nature had other ideas.
Thursday, June 27 has already been annouced as the make-up date. First the two local rivals will play a three game series at Rümlang from June 23 till 25 with a double header on Sunday and a night game on Tuesday.
Softball Night Game am Donnerstag
Das Softball-Team empfängt den Stadtrivalen Zürich Barracudas am Donnerstag, 20. Juni um 19.00 Uhr zum ersten Night Game der Saison auf der Klopstockwiese. Es ist das erste von vier Derbys innert Wochenfrist. Vom 23. bis 25. Juni treffen sich die beiden Teams zu einer three-game Serie in Rümlang.
Flyers defense keeps Ladies’ bats down
The Softball-Team lost twice against a strong Therwil team on Sunday, June 16 at the Klopstockwiese. The Challengers opened the score with two runs in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1, but the Flyers scored nine unanswered runs, as starter Adeline Glauser pitched in and out of trouble several times en route for a 9-2 win for the Flyers. The C's battled for over two hours, but weren't able to cash in the runs they needed. Leandra Simitovic, Macy Morgan and Simona Cellar had two hits apiece for the Challengers, while Lena Gfeller went a perfect 4-for-4 for the Flyers.
Game 2 was all Flyers, as they jumped on starter Karen Heimgartner for five runs in the first inning and held on for an easy 11-1 victory. Simona Cellar and Sandrine Montandon delivered two hits each, while Macy Morgan allowed two runs and five hits in three innings of relief.
The Challengers remain in fourth place with a 3-7 record. The C's will face the Zürich Barracudas for a night game on Thursday, June 20 at 6.30pm at the Klopstockwiese.
Ladies “Cheagles” vs. National Team
The Softball-Team played its part in the Swiss Nationalteam’s preparation for the European Championship in Prague. Combined with the Luzern Eagles they played two friendly games on Saturday, June 8 at Hünenberg. The "Cheagles" split: they won the first game 7-2 and lost the second game 1-4.
Ladies sweep Devils
The Softball-Team swept the Wil Devils on Saturday, May 25, 13-5 and 8-7. In the first game of the double header Leandra Simitovic pitched brilliantly surrendering only one earned run with four strike outs, while Simona Cellar led the team with her bat going 3-for-3 at the plate with a homer and 3 RBIs. The Challengers offense was unstoppable throughout the game with a total of 14 hits allowing the challengers to beat the Devils in only 5 innings.
In Game two Macy Morgan and Karen Heimgartner were able to pull off another victory for the Challengers on the mound. The Challengers offense was slow to start but with the help of Wehrli who was 3-for-4 at the plate, the ladies got the momentum going and were able to profit from the Devils' errors in the 4th to make it 3-5. By the next go around with the bats Henna Määttä then came through for the challengers with a two-run triple to tie up the game and Cellar's bat made Määttä score and the Challengers take the lead. At 8-5 in the bottom of the 7th inning the Devils tried to make a jaw-dropping come back but the Challengers defence proved to be superior and did not allow it.
With the two wins the C's improved their record to 3-5 and moved into fourth place. They will face the Therwil Flyers on June 16 at the Klopstockwiese.
Ladies arrive in win column
The Softball-Team recorded its first win of the season on Saturday, May 11, as the Challengers held on for an 8-7 victory against the Bern Cardinals. The C's almost blew a six-run lead, but Leandra Simitovic worked out of the jam, striking out Pamela Kellenberger to end the game with the tying run on third base. Simitovic and Simona Cellar delivered two hits and scored two runs each, while Jennifer Montague drove in two runs.
Game 2 was dominated by Cardinals pitcher Monica Alnes and her rise ball, as she didn't allow any hit between the second and the sixth frame and the Cardinals put things out of reach with a four-run fourth inning to eventually win 5-1. American Macy Morgan made her first start for the Challengers, but was interrupted by a 40 minutes rain delay after the second inning, before a two-run double by Pamela Kellenberger chased her after 3.1 innings of work. Simona Cellar delivered two hits, while Ziegylou Wehrli scored the only run for the Challengers in the seventh frame.
Ladies overpowered in Eagles sweep
The Softball-Team endured two losses against the reigning Swiss champion Luzern Eagles on Saturday, April 27 in the Challengers home opener. The Eagles proved to be the best team in Switzerland by winning the first game of the doubleheader 16-1, as Corina Casparis belted a two-run homer and Julia Gloukhoff drove in four runs. Ziegylou Wehrli led the Challengers with two hits, while Simona Cellar delivered a ground rule double over the right field fence.
And the Eagles' bats remained on fire, as they completed the sweep with a victory in Game 2. The Challengers scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and had several strong at-bats but were overmatched by the Eagles' consistent offensive production, as they erupted for eleven runs in the fourth frame to eventually win 20-3. Sandrine Montandon had a double, while Anouk Lkharrazi, Leandra Simitovic, Simona Cellar and Alexia Zingg had a single each.
The C's will host the Bern Cardinals on Saturday, May 11 at the Klopstockwiese for their next games.
Ladies downed by Flyers
The Softball-Team opened its season with a double-header against the Therwil Flyers on Sunday, April 14 at Therwil. The Flyers took both games, as they edged the Challengers 8-6 in Game 1 and added a 9-2 victory in Game 2.
The Challengers will face the reigning Swiss champion Luzern Eagles on Saturday, April 27 at the Klopstockwiese.
Season Preview
Die Challengers hatten Ende Saison 2012 viele Abgänge langjähriger Spielerinnen: Celine Welti, Andrea Wirth, Brigit Zuber und Sarah Lechmann. Auch Max Welti, Headcoach von 2010 bis 2012, hatte Ende 2012 den Rücktritt gegeben. Wir möchten ihm hier nochmals für seinen Einsatz danken und wünschen ihm für die Zukunft alles Gute. Seither haben sich viele junge Spielerinnen gemeldet, so dass wir mit einer neuen Generation von Challengers in die Zukunft starten können.
Unterstützt werden die Rookies von routinierten Spielerinnen sowie durch die Amerikanerin Macy Morgan, die als Pitcherin eingesetzt wird. Neben den unerfahrenen Neuzugängern haben sich noch weitere Ausländerinnen mit Spielerfahrung gemeldet, was uns zu einem ausgewogenem Team macht.
Für die Saison 2013 konzentrieren wir uns vor allem auf die Integration der Anfänger. Sie sollen genügend Erfahrungen sammeln können, so dass das Zusammenspiel zwischen den erfahrenen und unerfahrenen Spielerinnen so rasch wie möglich reibungslos stattfinden kann. Den Posten als Head Coach hat Leandra Simitovic, erfahrene Spielerin und Vorstandsmitglied, seit Anfang des Wintertrainings übernommen. Seit Langem wird sich das Challengers Softball Team erstmals wieder selbst coachen. Unterstützt wird Simitovic von Macy Morgan, sowie den weiteren bewährten Mitspielerinnen im Team.
Nach dem regulären Indoor-Wintertraining können wir es nun kaum erwarten in die neue Saison zu starten.