The Challengers (17-10) won twice against the first-placed Bern Cardinals (22-4) on Sunday, September 9 at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The C’s clinched the playoff berth for the 14th time since 1997 by posting an 11-8 victory over the Cardinals in Game 1. Tobias Siegrist tossed a complete game for the win, while the offense put together 14 hits. Robert Sedin went 3-for-4 and Jesus Martinez drove in three runs. With this victory the Challengers extended their lead over the fifth-placed Zürich Barracudas to two games.
But the Challengers weren’t done yet. They added another win, as they edged the Cardinals 5-3 in Game 2. Harry Bregy scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh, while Andrea Girasole (8-4) got the win with two innings of work and Robert Sedin notched his second save with two scoreless innings to shut the door.
The Challengers will play the Zürich Lions in their last game of the qualification round on Thursday, September 13 at 7pm.