Das Softball-Team verlor am Sonntag, 16. August auf der Klopstockwiese zweimal gegen die zweitplatzierten Wil Devils. Die Ostschweizerinnen veredelten 15 Hits zu einem sicheren 13-7 Sieg in Spiel 1. In der zweiten Partie des Tages lag keines der beiden Team mit mehr als einem Run vorne, wobei die Challengers in der zweiten Hälfte des siebten Innings den Siegespunkt bei einem Out auf der dritten Base stehen hatten, die Entscheidung aber nicht herbeiführen konnten, sodass das Spiel mit einem 3-3 ins Extra-Inning ging. Dort gelang den Devils so ziemlich alles. Sie erzielten nicht weniger als acht Punkte und siegten letztlich 11-3.

Das Schweizer Softball Nationalteam erreichte an der B-Europameisterschaft im belgischen Hoboken den neunten Rang. Das junge Schweizer Team erwischte einen harzigen Turnierstart. Nach Niederlagen gegen Polen, Israel, Kroatien und die Ukraine blieb für die Eidgenossinnen die Platzierungsrunde für die Ränge 9 bis 11, in welcher sich die Schweizerinnen dank eines 11-1 Sieges gegen Dänemark und trotz einer 5-7 Niederlage zum Abschluss gegen Ungarn durchsetzen konnten. Von den Challengers wurden Simona Cellar, Leandra Simitovic, Flavia Von Meiss und Simone Zurschmitten ins 16-köpfige Kader des Schweizer Nationalteams berufen.
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Das Schweizer Softball Nationalteam nimmt vom 27. Juli bis 1. August an der B-Europameisterschaft im belgischen Hoboken teil. Die Schweiz trifft an der EM auf Bulgarien, Kroatien, Dänemark, Ungarn, Israel, Polen, Slowenien, Schweden, Ukraine und Gastgeber Belgien. Von den Challengers wurden Simona Cellar, Leandra Simitovic, Flavia Von Meiss und Simone Zurschmitten ins 17-köpfige Kader des Schweizer Nationalteams berufen.
Weitere Informationen:Kader Schweiz 

Die Challengers Spielerinnen Simona Cellar, Leandra Simitovic, Flavia Von Meiss und Simone Zurschmitten wurden ins 17-köpfige Kader des Schweizer Nationalteams für die diesjährige Softball B-Europameisterschaft berufen, welche vom 27. Juli bis 1. August in Hoboken (Belgien) stattfindet. Die Schweiz trifft an der EM auf Bulgarien, Kroatien, Dänemark, Ungarn, Israel, Polen, Slowenien, Schweden, Ukraine und Gastgeber Belgien.
Weitere Informationen:Kader Schweiz 

For the first time ever in Swiss softball history an official game took place on weekdays, as the Challengers faced the Zurich Barracudas on Tuesday night, July 7 at the Klopstockwiese. In a makeup game caused by a June 27 rainout, the Challengers posted a 9-0 victory over their cross-town rivals. Corinne Wengi went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs in her farewell game for the Challengers and Leandra Simitovic and Simone Zurschmitten delivered three hits apiece, while Karen Heimgartner (3-1) tossed a one-hit shutout with a season-high ten strikeouts. Zurschmitten put the C’s ahead 1-0 on a RBI double in the first and the blue and red made it 7-0 in the third with six hits and some great baserunning. And the team of headcoach Armin Blickenstorfer added two more runs in the fourth, as Corinne Wengi ended her Challengers career in style with her 51st hit and 48th RBI in 71 games since 2005. The C’s remain in fifth place with a 5-7 record and will face the Wil Devils (11-3) after the summer break on August 16 at the Klopstockwiese.

The softball game between the Zurich Barracudas and the Challengers that was rained out on June 26 has been rescheduled for Tuesday, July 7, at the Klopstockwiese. The seven-inning contest is scheduled to get underway at 7pm. The game, that had to be called in the second inning due to heavy rain, was part of a double header with the Challengers taking game one 19-12.

The Softball-Team had one of its best offensive games of 2009 and recorded its fourth win of the season in the only game on Saturday, June 27 at the Klopstockwiese. Alexia Zingg had three hits and Sandrine Montandon and Ziegylou Wehrli drove in three runs apiece and the Challengers had a season-high 16 hits, beating their cross-town rivals Barracudas 19-12. The C’s exploded for nine runs in the first inning, as Barracudas starter Corina Grass managed to retire only two batters in rainy conditions and Simona Cellar greeted reliever Angi Montag with a triple to make it 7-0, before the C’s scored two more runs. The Cudas got two runs back in the second inning, but the C’s extended their lead to ten runs in the third, as they led off the inning with three singles from Andrea Wirth, Celine Welti and Sandrine Montandon. Headcoach Armin Blickenstorfer then handed the ball to Simona Cellar, but she walked all four batters she faced, and the Barracudas cut the deficit to 5-12. Reliever Corinne Wengi started the fifth but loaded the bases again for the Cudas and two costly errors from the Challengers’ defense enabled the Barracudas to tie the game. Starter Leandra Simitovic took over again for the blue and red and stopped the bleeding, by retiring the next three batters she faced. But the Challengers offense wasn’t done yet, as Corinne Wengi broke the 12-12 tie with a RBI-single in the bottom of the fifth and Sandrine Montandon connected for a two-run single in the sixth, before Corinne Wengi and rookie Vanessa Zulliger ended the game with back-to-back RBI-doubles to make it 19-12. Simitovic (2-4) allowed five runs – only two earned – on six hits and two walks, while striking out six. Game 2 was called due to heavy rain in the second inning. No make-up date has been announced so far.

The Softball-Team suffered two losses against the Geneva Jets (3-9) on Sunday, June 21 at Genève Vessy. The Jets built an early lead and never looked back, as they posted a 19-16 triumph over the Challengers in Game 1. The Jets exploded for eight runs in the first inning against starter Andrea Wirth and kept their bats on fire with 14 hits, including three doubles and two triples from five different players, to make it 19-9 after four innings. The C’s avoided to lose in five frames, as they cut the deficit to three runs in the fifth inning, but Closer Caroline Dombre tossed two scoreless innings to end the threat. Sandrine Montandon led the C’s offense with a stellar 4-for-5 performance, also scoring two runs, while Leandra Simitovic, Simone Zurschmitten, Katrin Dresbach and Corinne Wengi drove in two runs apiece and Nadja Peter made her debut for the blue and red going 1-for-3 with two runs, two walks and one RBI. Game 2 was like a déjà vu all over again for the Challengers. As in Game 1 Floriane Contat led off with a triple and opened the score for the Jets, who held on for a well-deserved 9-2 win. Both teams delivered six hits each, but the Challengers defense threw it away committing six errors that led to a total of eight unearned runs, while Jets starter Nora Pitz limited the C’s to two runs over six innings. Leandra Simitovic (1-4) ended up with the loss allowing one earned run and six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. The Challengers are now in fifth place with a 3-7 record. They will face the Zürich Barracudas (1-7) on Saturday, June 27 at the Klopstockwiese.

The Softball-Team got their third win of the season on Sunday, June 14, but not before dropping Game 1 against the Wil Devils. The Wil Devils used two innings to plate all their 12 runs of the game en route to a 12-2 victory in Game 1. Leandra Simitovic (1-3) allowed 12 runs – only three earned – and seven hits with five walks and three strikeouts, while Celine Welti and Sandrine Montandon drove in one run apiece. Jrene Bühler allowed two runs and five hits with three strikeouts for the win. The blue and red bounced back and handed the Devils their first loss in 2009, as the C’s posted a 6-1 win in Game 2. Karen Heimgartner (2-1) tossed seven effective innings, allowing one run and seven hits with nine strikeouts and outdueled Claire Rietmann-Grout, who allowed six runs – four earned – and seven hits and struck out nine. Six different players scored the runs for the Challengers, while Simona Cellar was the only Challenger with two hits. With the win the Challengers moved into fourth place with a 3-5 record.

The Swiss Softball National Team will travel to the Dutch city of Almere, where they will play a preparation tournament regarding this year’s European Championship. Switzerland will face Almere ’90 and the Laufer Wölfe from Germany on Sunday, May 31. The Challengers players Simona Cellar, Leandra Simitovic, Flavia von Meiss, Ziegylou Wehrli, Simone Zurschmitten will play for the Swiss team.
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