The Softball-Team lost twice against the first placed Therwil Flyers on Sunday, June 10. Nancy Plamondon opened the score with a two-run shot in the top of the first inning and the Flyers never looked back. Elise Beguelin also went deep in the bottom of the fifth frame to make it 2-4 and the Challengers came within one run, as Karen Heimgartner scored too, but the Flyers answered with two runs in the sixth and added two insurance runs in the seventh. The C’s were able to score three times in the seventh, but the Flyers eventually won 8-6, retireing the tying run, as Celine Welti lined out to the shortstop.
The Flyers took an early lead in Game 2 again, as they scored seven runs in the second inning on four hits, one walk and two hit batters, while Sophie Zihlmann kept the Challengers’ bats quiet, till the fourth frame, as Taylor Mc Cants delivered a triple and scored later. Alexia Zingg and Andrea Wirth scored two runs in the fifth to make it 3-8, but the Flyers added another two runs to win easily 10-3.
Because the Luzern Eagles swept the Zürich Barracudas on Sunday, the Challengers dropped into fifth place with a 5-7 record and already 1.5 games behind fourth place.
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Ladies swept by strong Flyers
Ladies remain at .500
The Softball-Team stays at .500 after splitting with the reigning Swiss champion Luzern Eagles on Saturday, June 2 at Reussbühl. The Challengers erased a four-run deficit in the fifth inning, as they batted around twice to score twelve unanswered runs for a 17-9 victory in Game 1. Leandra Simitovic delivered three hits and drove in four, while Nadja Critelli scored three times. Elise Beguelin went-1-for-3 with two RBI’s and scored twice in her first game for the Challengers.
In Game 2 the Eagles built an early 6-2 lead after scoring 5 times in the second inning, but the Challengers cut the deficit to one run in the fifth, as Simitovic delivered a RBI-double and Beguelin followed with a RBI-triple to make it 5-6. But the Eagles answered with two runs of their own in the fifth and added some more runs in the sixth to eventually walk away with a 12-5 win.
The Challengers remain in fourth place with a 5-5 record. They will face the first-placed Therwil Flyers on Sunday, June 10 at the Klopstockwiese.
Beguelin arrived in Zurich
Newly acquired softball pitcher Elise Beguelin arrived in Zurich on Thursday to join the Challengers Softball-Team. The 20-year old right-handed pitcher, who was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, played with the Hutchinson Community College Softball Team in the NJCAA in 2010 and 2011. Beguelin, who graduated with an Associate of Arts degree, pitched in 85 games, had a 34-20 record and a 2.71 ERA in 327 innings pitched with 293 strikeouts in her two years with the Blue Dragons. She was also batting .347 with 119 hits, 57 RBI’s and scored 62 runs in 105 games.
Before playing with the Blue Dragons Beguelin played with the Nickerson Panthers Softball Team for the Nickerson High School.
Beguelin will make her debut for the Challengers on Saturday against the reigning Swiss champion Luzern Eagles at Reussbühl.
Ladies with two tough losses
The Softball-Team lost twice against their cross-town rivals Barracudas on Sunday, May 20 in two hard fought battles that lasted more than two hours each. In Game 1 the Challengers’ rally came too late, as the Barracudas recorded the last two outs with the bases loaded to hold on to a 9-7 victory. In Game 2 the Challengers were one strike away from the victory twice, but the Barracudas erased a 3-6 deficit in the seventh inning before erupting for seven runs in the extra inning for a dramatic 13-7 win. With this two tough losses the C’s drop to a 4-4 record.
Continue Reading » Ladies with two tough lossesSoftball-Team wins twice against SG EAG/CHA
The Softball-Team faced the SG Eagles/Challengers on Saturday, May 19 at the Klopstockwiese, in what was a matchup in familiar atmosphere, as in both teams players from the Challengers lined up. The SG Eagles/Challengers opened the score in both games, but the Challengers managed to accelerate after starting slow twice to eventually win 15-1 and 21-6.
The SG EAG/CHA scored first in Game 1, as Irene Späni drove in Cindy Sullivan to make it 1-0 in the first inning. The Challengers answered in the second frame. After a pair of walks and hit-by-pitches Valentina Verdesca, Taylor Mc Cants and Ziegylou Wehrli delivered run-scoring singles to make it 7-1. After Jennifer Probst drove in Sandrine Montandon, Leandra Simitovic had a base-clearing hit to make it 11-1 in the third.
Probst, Mc Cants, Wehrli and Verdesca had a pair of hits each, while Simitovic allowed one run, two hits and four walks while striking out five in four innings of work.
The SG EAG/CHA started even better in Game 2, as Valentina Verdesca belted a three-run double and Fabienne Baumgartner added a two-run triple to make it 6-0 in the top of the second inning. But again the Challengers turned it around, scoring 21 unanswered runs on eight hits and 15 walks.
Leandra Simitovic, Taylor Mc Cants and Andrea Wirth had two hits each, while Jennifer Probst, Izumi Nitta, Mc Cants and Wirth scored three runs each.
Taylor Mc Cants gave up six runs and five hits with two walks and three strikeouts for her first win of the season.
Baseball and Softball games washed out
The home opener between the Challengers and the Bern Cardinals at the Heerenschürli ballpark, the softball game between the SG Eagles/Challengers and the Challengers and the season opener for the U12-Juveniles team all scheduled for Saturday, May 12 have been canceled by the groundkeepers due to heavy rain. No make-up dates have been announced so far.
Continue Reading » Baseball and Softball games washed outLadies swept by Devils
The Softball-Team lost for the first time this season, as the C’s were swept by the Wil Devils on Sunday, May 6. Game 1 was a nailbiter, as both teams exchanged zeros on the scoreboard till the Devils drove in the go-ahead run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The C’s loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but the Devils ended the game with a double play by throwing out the tying run at home to eventually win 1-0. Jrene Bühler won the pitcher’s duel, as she allowed four hits and three walks with three strikeouts, while Leandra Simitovic gave up one run, four hits and five walks while also striking out five. Simitovic had no support from her offense, as the C’s went a dismal 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Things got even worse for the Challengers, as they didn’t escape the first inning of Game 2. The Devils scored eight runs on eight hits, two walks and one error and held on for a 14-7 victory. The C’s regularly hit the balls right into the Devils’ gloves, while the Devils found the holes in the C’s defense, as they outhit the C’s 16-8. The C’s cut the deficit to four runs in the fourth inning, as Alexia Zingg, Ziegylou Wehrli and Celine Welti had back-to-back-to-back singles and scored later to make it 6-10, but the Devils answered right away with two insurance runs of their own. Taylor Mc Cants went a perfect 3-for-3 and Celine Welti had a pair of singles to lead the Challengers offense, while Nadja Lehmann, Ann-Katrin Fricke and Marielle Roth had three hits apiece for the Devils.
Simitovic, Heimgartner, C’s blank Eagles
The Softball-Team was nearly perfect on Opening day, as the Challengers won twice against the reigning Swiss champion Luzern Eagles on Saturday, April 28. Leadoff batter Brigit Zuber opened the score in the bottom of the first inning and the Challengers never looked back, as they increased the score to eventually win 7-0 in Game 1, as Nadja Critelli drove in the winning run in the bottom of the fifth. Leandra Simitovic tossed five magnificient innings, as she allowed one hit and two walks while also striking out four. Andrea Wirth delivered a RBI-double, while Brigit Zuber and Taylor Mc Cants scored two runs apiece.
And the C’s repeated their success in Game 2, as they posted a 7-0 victory again. The Challengers took an early 2-0 lead and added two more in the third, before Sandrine Montandon crossed the plate to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning in her first game for the Challengers since June 2010 to highlight her comeback. Leandra Simitovic and Alexia Zingg scored a pair of runs each, while Karen Heimgartner gave up only one hit and struck out ten, as she recorded her 25th win in a Challengers uniform.
The Challengers will travel to Wil on Sunday, May 6 to face the Wil Devils.
Challengers with full workload
The Baseball-Teams will both travel to Therwil the upcoming weekend. The NLA-Team will face last year’s finalist Therwil Flyers on Saturday, April 28. The games start at 11am and 2pm at Therwil Känelmatt.
A day later the NLB-Team will open its season also against the Flyers, with the games starting at 11am and 2pm at Therwil Känelmatt as well.
The Softball-Team will play its home opener on Saturday, April 28 at the Klopstockwiese. The C’s will face the reigning Swiss champion Luzern Eagles to start their campaign. The games start at 11am and 1.30pm.
The SG Eagles/Challengers, the organization’s second Softball-Team, will host the Zurich Barracudas on Sunday, April 29 at the Klopstockwiese. The games start at 11am and 1.30pm.
Summer Practice
Grössere Kartenansicht
The summer practice for the Zurich Challengers Softball Team takes place every Tuesday and every Thursday from 6pm till 8pm at the Klopstockwiese in Zurich-Enge. The Klopstockwiese is right at the corner of Bederstrasse and Klopstockstrasse (Tram 5 & 13, Bus 33 to Waffenplatzstrasse).
Das Sommertraining für das Zürich Challengers Softball Team findet jeden Dienstag und jeden Donnerstag von 18.00 – 20.00 Uhr auf der Klopstockwiese in Zürich Enge statt. Die Klopstockwiese befindet sich an der Ecke Bederstrasse/Klopstockstrasse (Tram 5 & 13, Bus 33 bis Waffenplatzstrasse).