The Softball-Team started its campaign with the home opener against the Hünenberg Unicorns on Sunday, April 26 at the Klopstockwiese. Armin Blickenstorfer won his first game as the new head coach of the Challengers, as the C’s cruised to a 13-0 victory over the Unicorns in Game 1. Leandra Simitovic (1-0) won her sixth straight opening day start allowing four hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Simona Cellar led the offense with a RBI-triple, while Flavia Von Meiss and Simone Zurschmitten scored three runs apiece. Game 2 was different, but ended up with the same winner, as the Challengers erased a seven run deficit to eventually win 9-8 after tie break. The Unicorns took an early 8-1 lead and pitcher Jamie Williams kept the Challengers’ bats silent. But the C’s erupted for five hits in the fifth inning, cutting the deficit to two runs, before Katrin Dresbach scored the tying run with two outs in the seventh inning and sent the game into tie break. A single by Karen Heimgartner and an intentional Walk to Flavia Von Meiss loaded the bases again and Simona Cellar batted in Rookie Celine Welti, who scored the game-winning run in her second game ever. Andrea Wirth made her first career start allowing eight runs – none of them earned – and six hits with two strikeouts in 2+ innings, while Karen Heimgartner (1-0) registered the win, allowing two hits in six innings of relief with seven strikeouts. Celine Welti and Vanessa Zulliger made their debut for the Challengers. The C’s will face next the Therwil Flyers on May 10 at Therwil.
Continue Reading » Ladies open season with two winsPosts in the Softball category:
Saisonstart der Softballerinnen gegen Unicorns
Das Softball-Team startet am Sonntag, 26. April mit dem Heimspiel gegen die Hünenberg Unicorns (1-1) in die neue Saison. Die Unicorns begannen ihre Saison mit einem Split gegen die Zürich Barracudas. Katrin Dresbach wird nach einjährigem Unterbruch ihr Comeback bei den Challengers geben, derweil Armin Blickenstorfer sein erstes Spiel als Headcoach der Challengers in Angriff nehmen wird, nachdem er den Chefposten von Willy Schaub übernommen hat. Spielbeginn ist um 11.00 und 13.30 Uhr auf der Klopstockwiese.
Continue Reading » Saisonstart der Softballerinnen gegen UnicornsLadies traveled to Germany
The Softball Team traveled to Herrenberg, Germany on Sunday, April 5, where they played against the Augsburg Dirty Slugs and the Herrenberg Wanderers, both from the First German Bundesliga. After losing 0-8 to the Dirty Slugs the C’s lost 15-17 against the Wanderers.
Continue Reading » Ladies traveled to GermanyLadies travel to Germany
The Softball Team will travel to Herrenberg, Germany on Sunday, April 5, where they will play against the Augsburg Dirty Slugs and the Herrenberg Wanderers, both from the First German Bundesliga.
Continue Reading » Ladies travel to GermanyWinter Practice 2009
The winter practice for the Zurich Challengers Softball Team takes place every TUESDAY from 6pm till 8pm at the Turnhalle Lavater at the Schulhausstrasse 1 in Zurich-Enge (tram 7 to Museum Rietberg)
Das Wintertraining für das Zürich Challengers Softball Team findet jeden DIENSTAG von 18.00-20.00 Uhr in der Turnhalle Lavater an der Schulhausstr. 1 in Zürich-Enge statt (Tram 7 bis Museum Rietberg).
In addition to that the practice takes place on WEDNESDAY March 4, March 18 and April 1 from 6.15pm till 7.45pm at the Turnhalle Rämibüel at the Rämistrasse 80 right across the Zurich University (Tram 5 & 9 to Kantonsschule).
Zusätzlich findet am MITTWOCH 4. März, 11. März und 1. April von 18.15-19.45 Uhr in der Turnhalle Rämibüel an der Rämistrasse 80 vis-à-vis der Uni Zürich ein Hallentraining statt (Tram 5 & 9 bis Kantonsschule).
Blickenstorfer neuer Softball Coach
Armin Blickenstorfer heisst der neue Headcoach des Softball Teams der Zürich Challengers. Blickenstorfer löst Willy Schaub ab, der das Team in den vergangenen zwei Jahren coachte. Blickenstorfer spielte insgesamt elf Saisons für die Challengers in der Baseball NLA und wurde 1998, 1999, 2000 und 2002 insgesamt viermal Schweizermeister. In der Saison 1999 arbeitete er als Spielertrainer.
Continue Reading » Blickenstorfer neuer Softball CoachSimitovic honored
Leandra Simitovic received her second MVP award at the Challengers’ General Assembly on January 11. She led the Challengers with 22 hits, 28 runs scored and 21 walks and went 8-7 with a 5.80 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 82 innings pitched. Karen Heimgartner went 4-3 with a 2.18 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched, earning her the Best Pitcher award. Karin Mittelstdt walked away with the Best Batter award after setting team highs with 28 runs scored, a .467 batting average and a .603 on-base percentage and finishing second in hits with 21, doubles with 2, stolen bases with 6 and walks with 15. Alexia Zingg was credited with her second Best Fielder award in a row. Andrea Wirth was named Most Improved Player, while Simona Cellar was named Rookie of the Year.
Continue Reading » Simitovic honoredHeimgartner inducted into Walsh Wall of Fame
Karen Heimgartner was inducted into the Wall of Fame of Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio on Saturday, September 27. Heimgartner pitched four years for the Cavaliers from 1997 till 2000 and led Walsh to their first NAIA World Series appearance in 2000. She set record marks on the Softball-Team’s all-time list for games pitched with 111, games started with 92, complete games with 79, innings pitched with 668, and leads the all-time list with a 1.41 Earned Run Average, 612 strikeouts, 67 wins and four No-Hitters. Heimgartner played her third season with the Challengers in 2008.
Walsh University Pitching RecordsWalsh University Wall of Fame
Ladies’ season ends with two tie break losses
The ladies’ title hopes came to an end in the semifinal on Saturday, September 20 after losing twice in tie break 7-8 and 5-6 against the defending champions Therwil Flyers at Therwil. In Game 1 the Challengers erased three deficits to send the game into extra innings with a 6-6 tie. In the eight inning the Challengers managed to load the bases with 0 outs. And the C’s scored the go-ahead run, as Karin Mittelstädt drove in Andrea Wirth with a RBI-single. But the Flyers escaped the threat when Alexia Zingg lined into a double play to pitcher Sophie Zihlmann, who threw to first to end the inning. In the bottom half of the inning the Flyers tied the game on Emily McNamara’s RBI-double, before Adeline Glauser drove in the winning run with a two-out RBI-single. The C’s ended up with the loss even though they outhit the Flyers 12-9. Flavia Von Meiss and Karin Mittelstädt collected three hits apiece, while Leandra Simitovic had two RBI’s. Simitovic allowed eight runs – six earned – and nine hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
The C’s bats remained on fire, as they opened Game two with three consecutive singles to make it 2-0 in the first inning. But the defense committed two costly errors, enabling the Flyers to tie the game in the second inning. The C’s took the lead again, as they scored a run in the third and fourth innings each. Again the Flyers tied the game with two runs in the fifth to make it 4-4. But the C’s made it 5-4, as Simone Zurschmitten drove in Karin Mittelstädt with a RBI-single in the sixth. In the seventh inning the C’s were one strike away from the victory, as a wild pitch from Karen Heimgartner enabled the Flyers to score the tying run. And as in Game 1 the Flyers had the better end in the tie break, as they scored the winning run on another wild pitch to end the Challengers’ season. The Flyers will face the Reussbühl Eagles, who beat the first placed Wil Devils in Game 3 of their semifinal series, in the finals. The Challengers finish the season in fourth place and will miss the European Cup for the first time since 2004.
Challengers lose Finals
Finals: The Challengers couldn’t make the sensation happen, losing 14-4 in the Finals of the European Cup against the Mladost Skorpions. The Challengers were outhit 13-9, with Karen Heimgartner and Simone Zurschmitten having two hits each. In the end, Karen was named Best Pitcher of the tournament, and Lindsay Marshall received the trophy for Best Batter. Day 5: The Challengers will play in the title game on Saturday after beating the Mladost Skopions 4-0. Karen Heimgartner pitched another gem as she gave up only four hits, no walks, and struck out eight. Andrea Wirth had the game-winning RBI in the fourth inning, and two singles and two errors scored all the runs the Challengers need. The Grand Final will be played on Saturday at 3pm against Evriali Glyfadas.
Earlier in the day, the Challengers advanced to the Semifinals by winning all their games. In the final game, they beat the Skorpions 15-2 on Irene Bühler’s 4-hitter, allowing only 2 unearned runs and one walk, also striking out nine. The Challengers scored 11 times in the third inning to blow the game wide open. Ziegylou Wherli went 3-for-4 with four RBI’s, including a 3-run double, and Lindsay Marshall went 2-for-4 with a 3-run double in the third. Day 4: It seems as if nobody can beat the Challengers as they won their seventh game in a row. They beat Athletic Sofia 13-6 as Leandra Simitovic combined with Irene Bühler on a 6-hitter. The Challengers scored 11 times on eight hits in the first inning. Simitovic had a triple, Lindsay Marshall an RBI-triple and Alexia Zingg a bases-clearing double. Four players had at least two hits as the team improved to 7-0. Day 3: The Challengers are still undefeated after six games, mainly thanks to Karen Heimgartner’s stellar pitching performance. In Game 6, her 3-hit shutout of Evriali Glyfadas from Greece in a 7-0 rout put the Challengers at 6-0 and in first place in the standings. She struck out nine and walked only three, while Irene Buehler had a two-run double in the first and a triple in the third inning. Leandra Simitovic was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, and Heimgartner hit an RBI-double in the 5th to help her own cause.
In the first game of the day, the Challengers have defeated the Odense Giants 6-0 for a second time to improve their record at the European Cup to 5-0. Karen Heimgartner pitched a no-hitter with 13 K’s and just one base-on-balls. Heimgartner’s performance on the hill was backed up by Lindsay Marshall’s 3-for-3 performance, including 3 RBI’s. Day 2: The Challengers started into the European Cup in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria with a perfect 4-0 record. With wins against all four other teams, the Challengers have propelled themselves into the role of early favorites to win it all. Their latest triumph came against Athletic Sofia, whom they beat 12-4 behind Irene Buehler’s 12-4 complete game win, in which she allowed only three earned runs on seven hits and one walk, while also striking out four. Simona Cellar went 4-for-4, including a triple and a grand-slam homer to collect a total of six RBI’s. It was the first homer ever in the new built Levski complex at Dupnitsa. Charissa Rajnoch added a 3-run double, and Alexia Zingg hit an RBI-triple.
In Game 3 earlier in the day, they beat the Odense Giants 16-6. Leandra Simitovic pitched a complete game, allowing six runs – only two of them earned – on seven hits and two walks, while also striking out five. Simone Zurschmitten went 3-for-4, including a double and four RBI’s, Flavia Von Meiss also added three hits and four RBI’s in five at-bats, and Simona Cellar hit an RBI-triple. Corinne Wengi is listed as day-to-day after getting a deep cut in her left knee after a collision with the catcher in Game 1 on Monday against the Mladost Scorpions.
Day 1: The Challengers have won their first two games at the European Cup in Bulgaria. They won the opener 4-0 against Mladost Scorpions behind Karen Heimgartner’s 4-hit shutout. Ziegylou Wehrli put the Challengers on the board in the 3rd inning on an error, and Lindsay Marshall’s 2-run triple scored Andrea Wirth and Flavia Von Meiss.
In the following game against the Evriali Glyfadas from Greece, Heimgartner combined with Leandra Simitovic on a 1-hitter in a 5-2 victory. Simone Zurschmitten hit an RBI-single in the first inning, and Marshall had a 2-run triple in the second. She later added a double and a single, and collected three RBI’s. Heimgartner finished with 15 K’s on the mound.
Pics by Kevin Splunder ->