After four consecutive wins the Challengers were stopped in their away game in Wittenbach. The Panthers prevailed 9-7 in a hard-fought game and followed with an easy 11-1 victory in the second game.

Although last year’s finalists from Eastern Switzerland were mostly on the gas, the Challengers were largely able to hold their own, at least in Game 1. The C’s erased an early 0-2 deficit thanks to an RBI single by Taylor McCants, an RBI-single by Carmen Lutz-Demetz and a run by Simona Cellar on a wild pitch to make it 3-2. The Zurich team even managed to tame a 5-run inning by the Panthers. A 2-run double by Marianne Aellen followed by an RBI double by Taylor McCants made it 6-7, and Isabelle Tan tied the score again in the fourth inning. But the Panthers took the lead once more, scoring one run each in the fourth and fifth innings. This time the Challengers couldn’t respond. While they did get some traffic on the bases, they couldn’t score any more runs.

Taylor McCants, Carmen Lutz-Demetz, Karen Hendren, and Mia Matas each had two hits for the Challengers, who even had the upper hand in hits, 11-8.

The second game, however, was a one-sided affair for the Panthers. They were already up 4-0 after two innings and responded to the Challengers’ lone run thanks to an RBI single from Isabelle Tan, posting seven runs in the third inning that ended the game early after four frames with a final score of 11-1.

The Challengers will face the champions Zurich Barracudas at home next Saturday.