55 hits, 44 walks, 22 errors, 84 runs, seven lead changes, one walk-off win, and ultimately a win each for the Bern Cardinals and the Zurich Challengers. This softball doubleheader at the end of the preliminary round had it all. The Challengers will face their local rivals and reigning champions, the Zurich Barracudas, in the playoff semifinals – once more.
On the final day of the preliminary round of the Swiss Softball Championship the Zurich Barracudas and the Wittenbach Panthers were still fighting for first place and thus home-field advantage for a potential final series. The duel between the Challengers and the Cardinals, however, lacked the edge. For the home team the season was already over, while the Challengers were already safely in third place and thus in the playoff semifinals. But the encounter quickly developed into one of the wilder ones. Both teams appeared anything but confident in their actions, but they knew how to respond to setbacks time and again. The Challengers surrendered the lead no fewer than three times in Game 1. Most recently in the seventh inning, when they couldn’t finish a 17-13 lead, and the Cardinals were rewarded for their fighting spirit with a 18-17 walk-off win.
Anouchka Michel went 3-for-3 with two doubles, one RBI, and three runs. Isabelle Tan and Simone Zurschmitten each collected three RBI and Carmen Lutz-Demetz recorded two hits and two runs for the Challengers.
In the second game the Challengers seemed to take control. They quickly pulled ahead 12-1. But the script for this game, too, didn’t call for a straightforward storyline, but rather a lot of twists and turns. After four innings the Cardinals suddenly led 15-12. But the Challengers found their way back on track. With four runs in the fifth and nine runs in the sixth inning, they turned things around again and, after a total of five hours and 35 minutes of softball, finally secured their 28-21 victory.
Carmen Lutz-Demetz raised her batting average to exactly .500 with four hits, also driving in four RBI and scoring three runs. Simona Cellar went 4-for-4 with a triple, a double, four runs scored, and two RBI. Isabelle Tan had three extra-base hits, three RBI, and four runs. Marianne Aellen also had three hits with two RBI and four runs scored, while Molly Mullens added four RBI for the visitors.
The European Cup tournaments in softball follow at the end of August and the European Championships will take place in Prague from September 7th to 13th, which is why the playoffs won’t start until September 20th. From Zurich’s perspective, it’s the Challengers vs. Barracudas derby.
