The Challengers were defeated again in the second night game of the weekend by their cross-town rivals. The Barracudas celebrated their 40th anniversary in style with a 5-0 victory.
The game was characterized by numerous strikeouts. Barracudas starter Nicholas Miceli recorded ten strikeouts and gave up only four hits and no walks in seven innings. Tate Stone-Frisina’s twelve strikeouts were of no use. In eight innings, he gave up a total of three hits, three runs, two of which were unearned, and two walks. The Challengers made costly errors at the wrong time in this close game, but also failed to make headway with the opposing pitches on offense. No fewer than fourteen of their 29 batters were struck out. Thus, the Barracudas secured their second derby victory in 24 hours with relative ease.

The first major Zurich baseball derby was also the first night game at the Heerenschürli ballpark, which had been upgraded with a new backstop. What initially seemed like a clear win for the Challengers ultimately became a clear victory for the Zurich Barracudas.
The Challengers got off to the better start. The visitors scored two runs in their first inning. Leonel Sosa Marte opened the scoring with an RBI single before Carlo Nepomuceno made it 2-0 on a wild pitch. In the third inning, the pendulum swung even more decisively in the Challengers’ favor. Nepomuceno increased the lead to 4-1 with a two-run single before Nick Siemers blasted the ball over the wall in left center field to make it 6-1.
Anyone who thought the game was over isn’t familiar with the Zurich baseball derby history. It has had some crazy twists and turns in store, and that was no different on this Friday night. While the Challengers offense shut down, the Barracudas clocked in. In the fourth frame the home team made up the deficit thanks to a 2-run double by Nick Fischer and an error by the Challengers, tying the score at 6-6. Then, in the sixth inning, all hell broke loose. Even with two pitching changes, the Challengers could not extinguish the wildfire ignited by no fewer than 16 batters from the Barracudas, who were wearing their City Connect uniforms tonight. The damage to the Challengers was severe. Eleven runs, making the score 17-6, brought the game to an early end. It’s a good thing the next opportunity awaits tomorrow, Saturday evening, also at 6:30 p.m. Their opponents are once again the Zurich Barracudas.

The schedule includes two night games at the Heerenschürli ballpark right at the summer solstice. The games between the Zurich Barracudas and the Zurich Challengers will be the first night games at the Heerenschürli with its impressive new backstop. First pitch on both Friday and Saturday is at 6:30 p.m. in Zurich-Schwamendingen.

In their first home game of the season at the remodeled Heerenschürli ballpark, the Challengers secured two wins against the Zurich Barracudas’ second team. The home team was sweating, and not only due to the weather.
Although the Challengers prevailed in Game 1 with a clear 13-3 score, the game was far more competitive than the score suggests. The Barracudas had the advantage in hits, 14-11, but stranded no fewer than 15 baserunners in seven innings. The Challengers were much more efficient. They took a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to an RBI double by Säntis Zeller, which brought home Florin Kämpfer, and a sac fly by Nick Siemers. They extended their lead to 8-1 by the fifth inning before sealing the deal with five more runs in the sixth.
Nick Siemers had two hits and two RBI, driving in three runs, while Florin Kämpfer, Leonel Sosa Marte, Adderly Sarmiento, and Simon Steffen each contributed two hits. Steffen also earned the win. He gave up twelve hits in 6.1 innings but only two runs with two walks and six strikeouts.
The second game of the day was far more dramatic. The Barracudas led 8-1 by the fourth inning before the Challengers also entered the game. Five runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning to make it 6-8 brought them back into the game, with the Barracudas helping out with three errors. And they cut the distance to 7-8 thanks to a hit by pitch with the bases loaded, aided by the opposing team again. The C’s were still one run away from tying the game. But things got even better for the White-blue-reds. With runners on second and third base and one out, Carlos Nepomuceno delivered a two-run single for a much-celebrated walk-off win.
Regis Reinhard shone with three hits and three runs, he also was credited with the win thanks to a shutout inning in the top of the seventh inning, while Florin Kämpfer, Carlos Nepomuceno, Nick Siemers, and Leonel Sosa Marte each had two hits.

The Lucerne Eagles and the Zurich Challengers played two evenly matched games. In Game 1, however, the Eagles broke the deadlock in the seventh inning, giving the Eagles a mercy-rule win. In Game 2 the Eagles tied the game at the last minute, but the Challengers prevailed in extra innings, winning 4-3.
The Challengers presented the youngest Challengers team roster in this millennium in Lucerne. Only four regulars made the trip to central Switzerland. In return, the young talents received plenty of playing time. And the young guns performed well for long stretches. Although the visitors were unable to generate much offensive output, the game was tied 1-1 midway through the seventh inning. Starting pitcher Florin Kämpfer kept his team in the game. In five innings, he gave up only one unearned run and one hit, with seven walks and four strikeouts. The eternal Säntis Zeller was able to erase this 0-1 deficit in the seventh inning when he reached home on a wild pitch. But in the bottom half of the seventh inning, all the dams broke. The Challengers pitchers were no longer hitting the strike zone and loaded the bases multiple times, allowing the home team to score no fewer than ten runs on just three hits, leading 11-1 and ending the game early.
In Game 2 Tate Stone-Frisina took over on the mound. He sent almost half of the opposing batters he faced back to the dugout with strikeouts. He also provided the offensive power that had been lacking in the first game. His RBI double in the second inning gave the Challengers their first lead of the day. In the sixth inning Florin Kämpfer increased the lead to 2-0 with an RBI double. But the Eagles managed to tie the game at 2-2 in the final minute after an RBI double by Fernando Baez and an RBI single by Junior del Rosario with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. This forced the game into extra innings. There, the Eagles made a fatal error, allowing Adderly Sarmiento to reclaim the Challengers’ lead scoring the 3-2, after which Carsten Zuber scored as well to make it 4-2. Although the home team cut the deficit in half to 3-4 with two outs, Stone-Frisina ended the game with his fourteenth strikeout, securing at least the split for his team.

The Challengers also collected two wins in their second home gameday away from home. The Zurich team had the stamina against the Wil Pirates, making the difference twice in the second half.
The Wil Pirates were able to keep both games open for a long time. After an early 2-0 lead for the Eastern Swiss team in Game 1, the Challengers were able to turn the game around by the fourth inning thanks to an RBI single by Ryan Byrne and two errors by the Wil defense. Errors continued to be a problem for the Pirates. They made three in the fifth inning, which the Challengers exploited. After a sac bunt by James Sanders made it 4-2, the young guard increased the lead to 7-2 with Jordi Bucher’s RBI single and Kazuki Sato’s two-run single. A sac fly by Ryan Byrne and a ground-rule double by Säntis Zeller made it 10-2. The Pirates narrowed the gap to 6-10 in the sixth inning, but the Challengers didn’t let anything slip away. Noam Blickenstorfer and Florin Kämpfer, with a sac fly to make it 16-6, caused the early end of the seventh inning.
Ryan Byrne had three hits and four RBI, Säntis Zeller shone with two hits, Kazuki Sato had two hits and two RBI, and Jack Siemers scored three runs. Meanwhile Carsten Zuber pitched a complete game, giving up seven hits and six runs with two walks and ten strikeouts.
The second game of the day followed a very similar pattern. After four innings and good pitching from Aaron Sutter for the Pirates and Florin Kämpfer for the Challengers, the scoreboard showed a 4-4 tie. But then the Challengers essentially made up the difference with two hits. Jack Siemers first put his team ahead 6-4 with a two-run double, before Ryan Byrne followed with a three-run home run to make it 9-4. Regis Reinhard brought the final outing with a two-run home run to seal the final score at 11-4.
Ryan Byrne was again the man of the game with four hits, one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Kazuki Sato had another two hits, while Tate Stone-Frisina earned his first win for the Challengers. He pitched the final four innings, giving up one hit and two runs, with three walks and nine strikeouts.