Die Luzern Eagles sind Softball Schweizermeister 2010. Die Innerschweizerinnen siegten in der best-of-five Finalserie mit 3-1 gegen die Zürich Challengers.
Nach je einem Sieg am vergangenen Wochenende lagen die Challengers in Spiel 3 praktisch über die ganze Spieldauer in Führung, bevor die Eagles Offensive in den beiden letzten Innings einen 5-11 Rückstand noch in einen 12-11 Sieg verwandeln konnte. Die Challengers nutzten zudem ihre Chancen zu wenig konsequent aus. Nicht weniger als 17 Baserunner liessen sie stranden. Nachdem die ersten drei Spiele jeweils eine knappe Angelegenheit waren, sicherten sich die Eagles mit einem klaren 7-0 Erfolg in Spiel 4 ihren dritten Schweizer Meistertitel nach 1999 und 2001. Mit dem Finaleinzug qualifizierten sich die Challengers für den Europacup 2011.

The best-of-five-series between the Zurich Challengers and the Lucerne Eagles is tied at 1-1 after the first day at Zurich.
The Challengers took the opener, as the C’s erased a four-run deficit en route to a 10-5 victory over the Eagles. Simona Cellar drove in two runs, while Nancy Plamondon delivered two hits and Simone Zurschmitten scored three times. Leandra Simitovic recorded her eleventh win of the season, as she allowed five runs, six hits and six walks while striking out five.
Karen Heimgartner tossed a three-hitter in Game 2, but her defense threw it away, as the Challengers committed a total of nine errors. The C’s didn’t give up and rallied for five runs in the last two innings to eventually lose 7-8, as the Eagles tied the series at 1-1. Simone Zurschmitten delivered three hits with two doubles and drove in two runs and Simona Cellar had three hits with two RBI’s.
Game 3 and 4 will take place on Saturday, September 25 at Luzern Reussbühl.

 
The Softball final series begins on Saturday, September 18 with the Zurich Challengers and the Luzern Eagles playing Game 1 and 2 of their best-of-five series.
It is the first-ever postseason meeting between the two teams. For the Challengers it is the fourth appearance in the finals and the first since 2007, after winning the Swiss championship in 2006, while the Eagles reached the finals in 2008 after winning the crown twice in 1999 and 2001.
This year the Eagles finished the qualification round in first place with a 19-5 record and swept the Wil Devils in their semifinal series 2-0. After a 12-2 victory in Game 1, the Eagles edged the Devils in Game 2, as they posted a 1-0 shutout win. The Challengers, who had a 15-9 regular season record, dethroned the reigning champion Therwil Flyers in their semifinal series. After the C’s won the opener 13-2, the Flyers forced a decisive Game 3 with a 11-1 victory in Game 2, before the C’s posted a 16-9 win in Game 3.
With two wins apiece on each field in May the Eagles swept the season series from the Challengers. The Eagles are riding a seven game winning streak and won 13 of their last 14 games, while the Challengers have a 16-5 record since June 5, after a dismal 1-5 start.
The games start at 11am and 1.30pm at the Klopstockwiese. Game 3 and if necessary 4 and 5 will be played on September 25 and 26 at Luzern Reussbühl.
 
History:
Number of meetings (since 2004): 18
Regular Season Series: 11-7 (.611) Zurich Challengers
Post Season Meetings: first-ever postseason series
 

The Softball-Team won its best-of-three semifinal series against the reigning champion Therwil Flyers. After the Challengers won the opener on Saturday, as they cruised to a 13-2 victory, the Flyers bounced back strong in Game 2, as they rolled to a 11-1 win to tie the series at 1-1 and to force a decisive Game 3.

And the decider was a seesaw, as the lead changed five times and the Challengers erased a two-run deficit three times to eventually win 16-9, as the Flyers weren’t able to get out of the fourth inning, as three pitchers combined for eleven base-on-balls. Andrea Wirth drove in four runs and Ziegylou Wehrli collected three RBI’s, while Wirth, Karen Heimgartner and Simona Cellar had two hits apiece. Leandra Simitovic tossed a complete game for her tenth win of the season.
With this win the Challengers move into the Finals for the fourth time in team history and for the first time since 2007. They will face the Luzern Eagles, who swept the Wil Devils in the other semifinal series.
Game 1 and 2 of the best-of-five championship series will take place on Saturday, September 18 at 11am at the Klopstockwiese.

Das Softball-Team bestreitet am Wochenende seine best-of-three Playoff-Halbfinalserie gegen den amtierenden Schweizer Meister Therwil Flyers. Beide Teams beendeten die Vorrunde mit je 15 Siegen, die Challengers sicherten sich den Heimvorteil aufgrund der geringeren Anzahl erhaltener Runs.
Spiel 1 findet am Samstag, 11. September um 11.00 Uhr in Therwil Känelmatt I statt, Spiel 2 und falls nötig 3 am Sonntag, 12. September um 11.00 und 13.30 Uhr auf der Klopstockwiese.
Die Challengers und die Flyers blicken auf eine lange Geschichte mit packenden Playoff-Duellen zurück, treffen die beiden Erzrivalen doch zum sechsten aufeinanderfolgenden Mal in der Postseason aufeinander. Letztes Jahr setzten sich die Flyers im Halbfinal mit 2-1 durch, nachdem die Challengers das Startspiel noch mit 6-5 gewinnen konnten. Den einzigen Erfolg für die Challengers gab es 2006, als sich die Zürcherinnen im Final mit 2-0 durchsetzten und ihren ersten Schweizer Meistertitel erringen konnten.

 
The Softball-Team played a make-up game against the Zurich Barracudas on Thursday, September 2 for their June 17 postponement. Simona Cellar drove in three runs and Leandra Simitovic recorded her eight win of the season, as the Challengers rolled to a 12-1 victory over the Zurich Barracudas to clinch a playoff berth.

Alexia Zingg went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, while Andrea Wirth drove in a pair of runs to pace a 11-hit attack for the C’s, who have won seven of their last nine games.
Simitovic opened the score in the first inning and Nancy Plamondon made it 2-0 on a wild pitch. The Challengers blew the game open with eight runs in the second frame. The C’s started the inning with four consecutive hits, before Alexia Zingg doubled and scored when Andrea Wirth followed with a RBI-single to make it 7-0. And the Barracudas couldn’t stop the bleeding, as Simona Cellar delivered a bases-clearing triple for a 10-0 lead. 
The C’s, who clinched a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season, will face the Therwil Flyers in the semi-finals. The games between the two arch rivals scheduled for Saturday, September 4 have been canceled, as the Flyers forfeited the games. With the two additional wins the C’s moved into second place with a 15-9 record and gained home field advantage for the best-of-three semifinal series, which will start on September 11.
 

Das Softball-Team läuft am Donnerstag, 2. September zu einem Nachtragsspiel gegen die Zürich Barracudas auf. Die Barracudas benötigen einen Sieg, um ihre Playoff Hoffnungen am Leben zu erhalten, derweil die Challengers diesbezüglich mit einem Sieg alles klar machen können. Die Challengers gewannen in der laufenden Saison zwei von drei Direktbegegnungen. Spielbeginn ist um 18.30 Uhr auf der Klopstockwiese.

The Softball-Team remained in third place after a split with the Wil Devils on Sunday, August 22 at the Klopstockwiese. The Challengers used a 17-hit attack to erase an early five-run deficit en route to a 17-10 victory over the Devils in Game 1.
The Devils opened the score with five runs in the first inning, as they delivered three hits and the Challengers defense committed three errors. But the C’s came back strong, as Alexia Zingg slapped a two-run single to highlight a seven-run first inning and Leandra Simitovic added a two-run single in the opening inning to make it 7-5.
Both teams added five runs over the next three frames for a 12-10 Challengers lead. But the Challengers’ bats were on fire, as they exploded for five hits and five runs that ended the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Alexia Zingg opened the frame with a single before Karen Heimgartner laced a double to left field. Ziegylou Wehrli and Celine Welti followed with RBI-singles and Andrea Wirth delivered a two-run double to deep center field to make it 16-10.
Alexia Zingg ended 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, Karen Heimgartner went 3-for-4 with a double and Celine Welti had two hits and crossed the plate three times, while Leandra Simitovic, Simona Cellar and Andrea Wirth drove in two runs apiece.
Leandra Simitovic yielded eleven hits and ten runs – seven earned – with two walks while striking out three to win for the seventh time this season. 
Game 2 was all Devils, as they cruised to a 9-1 win over the Challengers. The Devils delivered nine hits, while the C’s defense committed eight errors. The Devils put things out of reach in the fourth, as Chantal Breitenmoser belted a base-clearing double to deep center field to make it 5-0. Claire Rietmann-Grout carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before pinch hitter Elizabete Vieira singled to right field and Nancy Plamondon drove her in with an RBI-single to make it 1-5.
Rietmann-Grout limited the C’s to three hits and struck out seven, while Karen Heimgartner ended up with the loss, as she allowed nine runs – only two earned – with one walk and four strikeouts.
The C’s maintain a slim half game lead over the Devils and a three-game lead over the fifth placed Zurich Barracudas.