The NLA games between the Zurich Challengers and the Therwil Flyers scheduled for today, Saturday, August 2, had to be canceled due to an unplayable field. At the Heerenschürli ballpark on Saturday morning, a swimming competition would have been more realistic than a baseball game. The Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation’s TC will decide promptly whether and when the games will be rescheduled.
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A lot of Baseball to start the month of August
August begins with a full program of baseball action at Schwamendingen’s Heerenschürli. The NLA-Team will play its final doubleheader of the season on Saturday, August 2nd. The Challengers will host the reigning champions Therwil Flyers. With the newly introduced intermediate round this season, only the top two teams in the standings advance directly to the playoff final. It’s already clear that this will be Zurich’s last game of the 2025 season. Games begin at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Thanks to the withdrawal of the Hünenberg Unicorns, the NLB-Team has subsequently slipped into the intermediate round. After two narrow victories against the Lausanne Indians last Saturday, the Challengers will play two night games against the Zurich Barracudas Academy before the start of the playoffs. The two-game series will take place on Monday, August 4, and Tuesday, August 5, at the Heerenschürli ballpark. Both games start at 6:30 p.m. each.
Challengers also lose fourth Zurich derby
The Challengers lost also the fourth derby against their cross-town rivals Zurich Barracudas this season. The game was very even for a long time before the Barracudas pulled away in the eighth inning, ultimately winning 11-4.
After their decisive defeat in last Friday’s local derby, the Challengers started way better this time. Pitcher Tate Stone-Frisina had a good night and the offense was up to speed right from the start. James Sanders delivered an RBI single in the first inning to make it 1-0. Although the Barracudas were able to score two runs themselves following a Challengers error, the home team answered in the third. After a leadoff single by Carsten Zuber, Säntis Zeller, James Sanders, and Noam Blickenstorfer had RBI-singles to make it 4-2. But the Barracudas found the antidote to the Challengers’ bats in Nicholas Miceli. The former German champion, with the Bonn Capitals, didn’t allow a single hit in six innings as a reliever and recorded twelve strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Challengers defense gave away the lead with numerous errors. These initially tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth inning, before the Barracudas retook the lead 5-4 in the seventh. In the eighth inning the visitors then sealed the victory with six runs, making it 11-4.
It wasn’t pitcher Stone-Frisina’s fault. He gave up eleven hits and eleven runs, but only one of those was earned. He also recorded eleven strikeouts. The Challengers defense ultimately totaled no fewer than nine errors – the most in 16 years. At least one Challenger had reason to celebrate, though. Mike Siemers got his first hit in the NLA in the second inning.
Nightgame on Tuesday
On Tuesday night, July 29, at 6:30 p.m., the fourth local derby of the season between the Zurich Barracudas and the Zurich Challengers will take place at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The game was originally scheduled to take place last Saturday, but had to be canceled early due to heavy rain.
Continue Reading » Nightgame on TuesdayTonight’s local baseball derby canceled
The local derby between the Zurich Barracudas and the Zurich Challengers, scheduled for Saturday evening at 6.30 p.m., has been canceled due to heavy rain. The field at the Heerenschürli ballpark is unplayable under these conditions. The Technical Commission of the Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation rescheduled the game for Tuesday, July 29 at 6.30 p.m.
Continue Reading » Tonight’s local baseball derby canceledBarracudas take first Nightgame
The first of two night games between the Zurich Barracudas and the Zurich Challengers was a clear victory for the Zurich Barracudas. After their 4-9 loss, the Challengers have a chance for revenge tomorrow, Saturday, when the next local derby takes place at 6:30 p.m. at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
The Barracudas, playing as the visiting team this evening, needed no warm-up. Three of their first four batters reached base with singles, and Nicholas Miceli and Camden Vasquez scored the first two runs in the first inning already. Even before the Challengers’ first hitter reached base, the Barracudas had already increased their lead to 4-0. Furthermore, their pitcher, Fabio Bundi, had a brilliant day. He gave up just two hits and recorded ten strikeouts in seven innings. When his workday ended, the scoreboard showed a score of 7-0. Only then did the Challengers clock in. After a hit by pitch to James Sanders and a walk by Simon Steffen, Carsten Zuber’s RBI single and Jordi Bucher’s RBI brought the home team on the scoreboard. And after RBIs from Regis Reinhard and Säntis Zeller made it 4-7, there was a brief glimmer of hope. But the Barracudas put the final touches on the event with two more runs in the ninth inning.
Two night games with local derby
The 2025 baseball season has another highlight in store. On Friday and Saturday night the Zurich Challengers and the Zurich Barracudas will face off in a two-game series at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
Since only the top two teams after the intermediate round advance to the playoff finals, the Challengers, currently in third place, are under severe pressure to close the gap to the top pairing of the Barracudas and Therwil Flyers. However, the Challengers were decisively defeated by their cross-town rivals in both of their preliminary round games. The games begin at 6:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday the Challengers Softball-Team will host the Lucerne Eagles at the Klopstockwiese for a home game as well. While the Challengers are in third place and firmly on course for a playoff spot, the Central Swiss team is still locked in a long-distance battle with the Bern Cardinals for fourth place. Both teams won one game each of the doubleheader in Lucerne, promising an exciting matchup. Games begin at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Klopstockwiese in Zurich-Enge.
Challengers unlucky
The Challengers were unlucky on Saturday. They lost Game 1 to the Lucerne Eagles 5-7 and in the second game of the day, they blew an 8-3 lead just as the game was called off due to rain.
The Central Swiss team made it to the second round, somewhat surprisingly, at the expense of the Wil Pirates. On Saturday at the Heerenschürli they proved that this was well deserved. The visitors scored three runs in each of the first two innings and ultimately held on to their 6-2 lead. The Challengers scored two runs in the first inning after a bases-loaded walk by Leonel Sosa Marte and an RBI groundout by James Sanders. An RBI groundout by Florin Kämpfer made it 3-6 in the second inning, and they came within one run in the fifth. After a double by Kämpfer and a single by Säntis Zeller, the home team pulled within 5-6 with an RBI groundout by Ryan Byrne and a wild pitch. However, the Challengers were unable to score against relief pitcher Fernando Baez Aybar, resulting in a 5-7 loss. This realistically puts a spot in the playoff finals far out of reach.
Things fared better for the Zurich team in the afternoon game. They quickly took a 5-0 lead and maintained a comfortable 8-3 advantage going into the final inning. However, the Eagles managed to tie the game in the nick of time. Instead of allowing the Challengers to pursue a walk-off victory in the bottom half of the seventh inning, the heavens opened, forcing the game to be called without a score.
Challengers split with Flyers
The Challengers remain within striking distance of the top two teams in the Baseball NLA. After a decisive loss in the first game, the Zurich team responded strongly in the second, earning a deserved 10-5 split.
The Zurich team got off to a poor start. While the Flyers offense quickly got going, the visitors struggled to find their footing and delivered just three hits in total. That was by far not enough. The game ended early with a 12-0 win for the home team. After the break, the Challengers checked in as well. Led by pitcher Tate Stone-Frisina, who gave up just four hits and one run in five innings, with one walk and eleven strikeouts, the visitors took control early. Carlos Nepomuceno opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning. The C’s made the decisive difference in the fourth inning. A single by Ryan Byrne made it 3-0, Carlos Nepomuceno followed with a two-run double, before James Sanders’ RBI double, Leonel Sosa Marte’s RBI single, and Noam Blickenstorfer’s RBI double gave Zurich an 8-0 lead.
Nepomuceno had three hits and four RBI, James Sanders also had three hits and two RBI, while Ryan Byrne, Säntis Zeller, and Leonel Sosa Marte each had two hits.
Softball-Team hosts Leader
The Challengers and the Wittenbach Panthers will face off in a softball duel on Saturday at the Klopstockwiese in Zurich-Enge. The first placed Panthers have only lost one game to date, defeating the Challengers twice in the first doubleheader of the season in mid-May. However, the Zurich team kept the first game open for a long time, losing only narrowly 7-9. The games will take place at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The U15 Cadets will also be in action on Saturday. The Challengers will face the Rümlang Kobras in a local derby. The games will take place at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Rümlang Rümelbach.
In the Baseball NLA the Challengers will travel to the leader on Sunday. The Zurich team will face the reigning champions, the Therwil Flyers, in Therwil. The Challengers have already secured their place in the intermediate round. For them, it’s all about keeping pace with the two top teams, Therwil and Zurich Barracudas. After the intermediate round, only the top two teams advance directly to the playoff final. The games are at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in Therwil Känelmatt.