The Challengers won the opening game of the 2011 Swiss baseball season on Saturday before big crowds at the Heerenschürli ballpark. Tobias Siegrist (1-0) gave up three runs – one earned – and three hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in five innings, while Yanik Probst notched a perfect ninth inning for his first career save, as the C’s posted a 6-3 victory over the Zurich Lions.

 

The C’s did most of their damage in the bottom of the first frame, as they scored three runs on three singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly. The Lions, who played their first NLA game since 2001, cut the deficit to one, as they scored twice in the top of the fifth to make it 3-4. But Gabe Staub provided some insurance, as he drove in Carl Conway with a RBI-double in the bottom of the fifth, while Yanik Probst added a RBI-single to make it 6-3.

 

The C’s will face the reigning Swiss champion Bern Cardinals on Sunday, April 10 at Bern.