Ryan Byrne was named Challengers MVP for the third time after 2014 and 2022. The Swiss national team player once again had a strong season with a batting average of .585, 31 hits, 1 home run, 28 runs and 9 RBI as well as an ERA of 1.91 with 38 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched and a 2-2 record. He also won the title for the Best Batter with his performance at the plate. The MVP of the 2023 season, James Sanders, was honored as Best Pitcher for the fifth time. He had an ERA of 0.55 with 15 strikeouts, a 1.16 WHIP and a 1-0 record. The MIP award went to Regis Reinhard. The Bernese Oberland native achieved a batting average of .388, an on-base percentage of .456, 19 hits, 10 runs and 11 RBI. Jason Wueger was named Rookie of the Year with a batting average of .313, 5 hits, 3 runs and 1 RBI.
Continue Reading » Ryan Byrne named Challengers MVP for the third timeAuthor: Serge Künzler
First MVP Award for Isabelle Tan
After winning the award for Best Batter twice, Isabelle Tan has now also won the award as MVP of the Softball-Team for the first time. In the 2024 season she totaled a batting average of .271, 13 hits, 2 home runs, 24 runs, 21 RBI and a fielding percentage of .972. The title for the Best Batter went to Carmen Lutz-Demetz. She achieved a batting average of .455, 25 hits, 1 home run and 21 RBI. Leandra Simitovic was voted Best Pitcher of the Softball-Team for the tenth time already. She posted an ERA of 4.77 with 18 strikeouts and 3 wins. Simone Zurschmitten was chosen as Best Fielder with a fielding percentage of .929 in 56 chances. The MIP award went to Anouchka Michel. She achieved 8 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched, had a fielding percentage of 1.000 and made her debut with the U22 Softball national team. Marianne Aellen was named Rookie of the Year. She had a batting average of .125 and an on-base percentage of .364 and recorded 5 RBI.
Continue Reading » First MVP Award for Isabelle TanHoney Gigato Romero the NLB-Team’s MVP
In the NLB-Team the focus in the 2024 season was on promoting young players on their way to the NLA. But experienced players were also among the team’s pillars, which was also reflected in the individual awards. The title of the MVP went to Honey Gigato Romero. The new signing from the Zurich Eighters achieved a batting average of .458, 11 hits, 7 runs and 6 RBI. The eternal Juan Francisco Robles was named Best Pitcher. Tyson delivered an ERA of 3.68 with 12 strikeouts and a 1-1 record. Florin Kämpfer received the award for Best Batter. He totaled a batting average of .563, 9 hits, 8 runs and 5 RBI. The MIP award was given twice. Jordi Bucher and Jack Siemers share the award.
Continue Reading » Honey Gigato Romero the NLB-Team’s MVPFlorin Kämpfer MVP for the 1st League Team
The awards in the 1st League went to the young generation of Challengers players. Florin Kämpfer was named MVP of the 2024 season. In the few games for the third Challengers team he achieved a batting average of .667, 4 hits, 2 runs and 3 RBI. The award for Best Pitcher went to Jasper Freigang. He achieved an ERA of 5.23 with 11 strikeouts and a record of 1-2. Fabrizio Bucher earned the award for Best Batter with a batting average of .478, 11 hits, 12 runs, 5 RBI. He was also named Rookie of the Year. Jordi Bucher was honored as MIP. He finished the 2024 season with a batting average of .368, 7 hits, 9 runs and 12 stolen bases.
Continue Reading » Florin Kämpfer MVP for the 1st League TeamSchedules for Baseball National Leagues published
The Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation has published the schedules for the Baseball NLA and NLB. For the 2025 season seven teams will play in the NLA and NLB each, after the NLA gradually shrank to just four teams in recent years. The mode has also been completely overhauled with this change.
In addition to the four existing teams Therwil Flyers, Wil Pirates, Zurich Barracudas and Zurich Challengers, the Lucerne Eagles, the Sissach Frogs and the second team of the Zurich Barracudas will also be playing in the NLA. In the preliminary round, all teams play a doubleheader against every other team. When each team has played twelve games, the standings will be split. The best four teams play another doubleheader against each other, and the two best teams then play in the playoff final for the Swiss championship title.
The seven teams in the NLB are the Embrach Mustangs, the Hünenberg Unicorns, the Lausanne Indians and the three Zurich city clubs, the Zurich Barracudas with their Academy Team, the Zurich Lions and the Zurich Challengers. The Zurich teams will not play their first home games this season until June. Due to a massive construction delay in the “New Backstop” project at the Heerenschürli ballpark in Zurich-Schwamendingen the facility is closed until the end of May.
The Challengers’ second team will open its season on Sunday, April 13th with a doubleheader against the Therwil Flyers’ second team. The NLA-Team will not play its opening day until after Easter. The Challengers will face the Sissach Frogs on Saturday, April 26 at Sissach Tannbrunn.
Construction delay in Heerenschürli
The construction progress on the “New Ball Backstop” project in the Heerenschürli ballpark is not progressing as planned. According to the current status, the construction delay is two months, which is why the first home games for the city clubs will not be able to take place in the Heerenschürli stadium until May 31. The Challengers will therefore have to play their first home games of the 2025 season away from home and will not be able to play in front of a home crowd until mid-June. The practices will also be severely restricted in April and May.
Challengers GA on February 2nd
This year’s General Assembly of the Challengers Baseball & Softball Club Zurich will take place on Sunday, February 2nd at the Linde Oberstrass restaurant in Zurich.
Before the ordinary general meeting, which begins at 3 p.m., the junior meeting will take place from 1 p.m.
Happy Holidays
As 2024 comes to a close, we want to thank each of you for your dedication and energy throughout the year. We wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season, a Happy New Year, and we look forward to seeing you at our GV on Sunday, February 2.
Your Challengers Board members
Armin Blickenstorfer new assistant coach of the U15 National Team
The Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation (SBSF) has named Armin Blickenstorfer the new assistant coach of the U15-Cadets national team.
The original Challenger started his baseball career in 1989 with the Schwamendingers and went through all age groups and teams in Zurich North. He took part in various European Cup tournaments with the Challengers and became Swiss champion four times. He gained his first experience as a coach during his active career. He later led the softball team for two seasons and was most recently the coach of the Challengers’ U12 youth team for many years, with whom he also won four Swiss championship titles.
In the last two years, Blickenstorfer took over as head coach of the Swiss Little League team, which impressed with strong performances, particularly last year in Kutno, Poland. The move to the U15 Cadets national team as assistant to the new head coach David Castillo is therefore a logical next step for the Zurich native.
Volunteer Day – Thank you
Volunteering is the foundation of club sport in Switzerland. Of the approximately 350,000 positions that need to be filled in Swiss club sport, a good 335,000 are unpaid. According to a study by Swiss Olympic, volunteers provide services with a “hypothetical value” of around two billion francs each year.
This results in around 75 million hours of voluntary work per year. 44 million hours are provided by volunteers, the rest are work by helpers. This makes it clear why the study describes volunteering as the “foundation”. However, the outlook for the future is not entirely optimistic. There are many concerns. The clubs are often dependent on the commitment of a few people. Recruiting and integrating volunteers is becoming increasingly difficult.
On today’s Volunteer Day, the Challengers Baseball & Softball Club Zurich would like to thank all of its volunteer members and all of its helpers for their commitment to the club, to the sport, and to our youth.