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.

Continue Reading » Ladies move into Finals

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.

Continue Reading » Playoffstart fuer das Softball-Team

 
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.
 

Continue Reading » Ladies clinch playoff berth

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.

Continue Reading » Softball am Donnerstag

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.

Continue Reading » Ladies stay in third place

The Softball-Team improved its record to 11-8, as they swept the Geneva Jets on Sunday, August 15 at Geneva. Simona Cellar and Leandra Simitovic combined for a two-hitter and the Challengers survived the longest rain delay in team history, as the C’s posted a 16-5 win in Game 1 over the Geneva Jets.
The game was delayed 1 hour 55 minutes after the first inning by heavy rain. Trailing 3-5 after two innings the C’s turned the game around with seven runs in the third frame and they added four more runs to make it 14-5 in the fourth. Andrea Wirth scored four runs, while Nancy Plamondon and Celine Welti crossed the plate three times and Plamondon and Simitovic delivered two hits apiece.
Simitovic allowed two runs – none earned – and two hits with two walks while striking out seven in four innings.
Nancy Plamondon went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI’s and scored three runs, leading the Challengers past the Geneva Jets 22-3 in Game 2.
Leandra Simitovic and Vanessa Zulliger had two hits, while Zulliger, Ziegylou Wehrli, Celine Welti and Andrea Wirth scored three runs apiece. Jennifer Probst had an RBI-single in her first at bat for the Challengers and scored a run in the fourth inning.
Simitovic allowed three runs – two earned – and four hits in four effective innings, as she was credited with her sixth win of the season.
The C’s, who have won 10 of their last 13 games, remain in third place with a 11-8 record.

Continue Reading » Ladies win twice in Geneva

The Softball-Team remained in third place after earning a split against the Bern Cardinals on Saturday, August 7.
The Challengers scored nine runs in the first inning and held on for a wild 24-14 victory over the Cards in Game 1. The C’s started the scoring thanks to three walks and a pair of hit-by-pitches before Andrea Wirth and Brigit Zuber delivered back-to-back RBI-singles.
The Cards cut the deficit to five runs, but the C’s extended the lead to seven runs, as Alexia Zingg belted an RBI-triple to deep center field. Both teams scored several more runs over the next frames, before the C’s pulled away with eight runs in the sixth inning to seal the deal.
Andrea Wirth drove in a game-high four runs and crossed the plate three time and Celine Welti scored four runs for the Challengers, while Brigit Zuber, Leandra Simitovic, Ziegylou Wehrli and Nadja Critelli scored three runs apiece.
Leandra Simitovic was credited with her fourth win of the season, as she allowed 14 runs and 13 hits over six innings.
In Game 2 the Cardinals cruised to a 10-1 win, as Jennifer Ellenbeck delivered a three-run homer in the first inning. And Ellenbeck added a two-run double in the fourth to put things out of reach.
The Challengers opened the score in the top of the first inning, as Leandra Simitovic scored on a passed ball. But Ellenbeck slammed the door from there, completing four innings of one-hit ball, walking one.
Challengers starter Simona Cellar went the distance, as she allowed ten runs – two of them unearned – and seven hits over five innings, while Ziegylou Wehrli had the only Challengers hit of the game.

Continue Reading » Ladies split with Cardinals

The Softball-Team moved over .500 after sweeping the Geneva Jets on Saturday, July 10 at the Klopstockwiese. The two teams battled for 2 hours and 20 minutes in Game 1, as the Challengers exploded for a six-run fifth inning to beat the Jets 16-9.
The Jets grabbed an early 3-0 lead, as they delivered four hits in the first inning. And four more hits in the second made it 7-0 for the visitors. Then the Challengers’ bats heated up, as they erased the deficit to tie the game at 8-8 after four frames. But the Jets weren’t done yet, as they took the lead back in the top of the fifth, as Charissa Rajnoch crossed the plate to make it 9-8.
Brigit Zuber tied the game again in the bottom half of the inning for the C’s before Simona Cellar had an RBI-double for a 10-9 lead. In the end the C’s scored eight unanswered runs to seal the deal.
Simone Zurschmitten delivered two hits including a double and finished with two RBI and four runs scored, while Simona Cellar and Alexia Zingg posted a double and a single, three runs scored and an RBI and Leandra Simitovic and Ziegylou Wehrli drove in two runs apiece.
Leandra Simitovic allowed nine runs – six earned – and ten hits with six walks, while also striking out four for the win.
Karen Heimgartner and Simona Cellar combined for a one-hitter, while Leandra Simitovic drove in two runs, as the Challengers downed the Geneva Jets 8-0 in Game 2.
The C’s opened the score with two runs in the first inning and added four runs in the third frame on a bases-loaded walk to Zurschmitten, a two-run single by Simitovic and a run-scoring single from Wehrli to put things out of reach for the Jets.
Heimgartner scattered one hit while fanning five and walking one for her fifth win of the season.
With their seventh win in nine games the Challengers moved into third place with a 8-7 record.

Continue Reading » Ladies climb over .500