The NLA-Team will face the Flyers in Therwil on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Challengers need a successful match against last year’s final opponent in the fight to reach the final again. In the two duels so far this season, both teams have won one game each.
The NLB-Team will play a home game on Sunday, July 14th at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The Challengers will host the Lucerne Eagles at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The two teams already faced each other in Lucerne almost a month ago, with the Central Swiss team winning twice.
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NLA-Team at Therwil, home games for the NLB-Team
Three games washed out again
The 2024 season is not looking good. Once again three games involving the Challengers had to be canceled due to the miserable weather. Just in time for the scheduled start of the game heavy thunderstorms have been expected for Zurich, which then also broke out over the city, so that the NLA game between the Challengers and the Wil Pirates was out of the question.
Already on Saturday afternoon Sunday’s softball doubleheader between the Luzern Eagles and the Challengers in Reussbühl was canceled due to the unplayable field.
NLA night game on Saturday
The NLA-Team will host the Wil Pirates for a night game at the Heerenschürli ballpark on Saturday evening. The Challengers urgently need a win in the fight for a place in the final. At the beginning of May, the first encounter of the season ended with a split. The game starts at 6 p.m.
The NLB-Team will play an away game against the Hünenberg Unicorns on Saturday. At the end of April the Unicorns won twice at the Heerenschürli. The Challengers will try to take revenge for the home defeats. The games start at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
On Sunday the Softball-Team will also travel to central Switzerland. The Challengers will meet the Luzern Eagles in Reussbühl Hinterruopigen at 11 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. The Challengers clearly won the first two games between the two teams in Zurich.
Challengers with exploit against Therwil
The Challengers impressed in Game 1 with a strong offensive performance and defeated the leader in the standings Therwil Flyers 15-4. They also held up well in Game 2, but a costly error and a lack of luck led to a 0-3 loss.
In the fight to qualify for the finals the Zurich team urgently needed an exploit. And it started well. Leadoff batter Ryan Byrne showed the way with a home run over the center field fence. Shortly afterwards they increased their lead to 2-0. The Flyers equalized in the second inning with a 2-run homer by Ferlon Gijsbertha to make it 2-2, but this score only lasted for a short time. The Challengers took the lead again by two runs in the third inning and in the fourth inning Geoffrey Mäder made it 7-2 with a 3-run home run after singles by Noah Nussbaum and Ryan Byrne. In the end the guests totaled 25 hits and celebrated a 15-4 victory.
Man of the match was Geoffrey Mäder with four hits, including two home runs, and six RBI. Ryan Byrne and Noah Nussbaum each had five hits, while Leonel Sosa Marte and Regis Reinhard contributed three hits each to the win.
The Challengers would have liked to have saved their offensive power for the second game. Although they were once again ahead in terms of hits with 6-4, they were unable to convert their scoring opportunities into runs this time. Three baserunners were unluckily out and a fatal error in the third inning, which cost two runs, was decisive for the 0-3 defeat. James Sanders led the offense with three hits, while Ryan Byrne only gave up one earned run and four hits in six innings, with five walks and three strikeouts.
1st League Nightgame on Saturday
On Saturday night there will be a night game between the first league teams of the Zürich Challengers and the Zurich Eighters at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The two city rivals are facing each other for the second time this season. The game starts at 6 p.m.
The other Challengers teams that will be in action next weekend will have to play away games. The NLA-Team has to travel to Therwil on Sunday for the reprise of last year’s final. The doubleheader starts at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the Therwiler Känelmatt.
The Softball-Team has the shortest journey. The Challengers women meet the Zurich Barracudas in Rümlang. The games in Rümlang Rümelbach start on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The two teams will meet again on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Klopstockwiese in Zurich to complete the season series.
The U12 Juveniles will play against the SG Luzern Eagles/Hünenberg Unicorns on Sunday as well. The games take place at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on the Hinterruopigen in Reussbühl.
Games canceled
Due to the persistent rain and as a result of that unplayable fields in Lucerne and Hünenberg, the games scheduled for Saturday for the NLA team in the Swiss Cup against the Lucerne Eagles and the U15 Cadets’ doubleheader against the SG Unicorns/Eagles have already been canceled. The replacement dates will be announced as soon as the games are rescheduled.
The day tournament in the 1st league championship in Wil, where the Challengers were supposed to play against the Wittenbach Pirates and the SG Wil Pirates/Zürich Lions, also had to be canceled. The Challengers have therefore only played one game by the end of June. All other scheduled games had to be postponed due to the weather conditions.
Swiss Cup Weekend and Juveniles home game
Next weekend there will be another round of the newly designed Swiss Cup. The Challengers NLA-Team will meet the NLB-Team of the Lucerne Eagles on Saturday in Lucerne. The game starts at 10 a.m. on the Hinterruopigen in Reussbühl. Meanwhile, the Challengers NLB-Team will host the Wil Pirates NLA-Team at the Heerenschürli ballpark on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Challengers’ 1st League-Team will travel to Wil on Sunday. In the Lindenhof Stadium, the C’s will first meet the Wittenbach Pirates at 12.30 p.m. before the game against the SG Wil Pirates/Zürich Lions at 3 p.m.
Both junior teams will also be in action at the weekend. The U15-Cadets will play a doubleheader against the SG Hünenberg Unicorns/Luzern Eagles at Hünenberg Rony on Saturday. First pitches are at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The U12-Juveniles are having scheduled another home appearance. They play on Sunday on the Klopstockwiese at 10 a.m. against the SG Mustangs/Lions and at 3 p.m. also against the SG Unicorns/Eagles.
Derby win for the Challengers
In the duel between the local rivals, the Challengers achieved an important 3-2 win on Saturday night. This reduced the gap to the Zurich Barracudas in the standings to one game.
Both teams were played internationally in the Federation Cup last week and were able to learn a lot against strong opponents. In the Heerenschürli ballpark however, the pitchers were dominating. Both Cee-Jay Savoldelli for the Barracudas and Ryan Byrne on the Challengers pitched really strong. After seven innings, the score was only 2-1 for the visitors after an early lead for the Challengers and two runs for the Barracudas in the fifth and the seventh inning. However all the three runs have been scored due to errors in the opposing defense. In the eighth inning the home team turned the game around. After a lead-off single by Ryan Byrne, Robert Sedin tied the game with an RBI double before the veteran was hit home by Leonel Sosa Marte to make it 3-2. Closer Simon Steffen didn’t let anything go wrong in the ninth inning and made out all three opposing batters, securing the important win for his team.
Local derby on Saturday night
On Saturday night the fifth and final local derby of the preliminary round between the Zurich Challengers and the Zurich Barracudas will take place at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The Challengers urgently need a win to reduce the gap to the first two places in the standings, which entitle them to advance to the final. First pitch will be thrown at 6 p.m.
The NLB-Team plays a doubleheader against the Lucerne Eagles on Sunday. A difficult task awaits the Challengers at the foot of Mount Pilatus, as the Central Swiss team is heavily staffed by several former NLA players. The game on the Hinterruopigen in Reussbühl starts at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The U15-Cadets will face the prestigious duel with the Rümlang Kobras on Saturday. The reprise of the finals of the last two years in this age group will take place at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Embrach PZ Hard. The first duel of the season on opening day ended in a split.
There is another home game for the U12-Juveniles on Sunday at Zurich’s Klopstockwiese. The Challengers will meet the Rümlang Kobras at 10 a.m. and the SG Mustangs/Lions at 3 p.m.
Challengers remain winless
The Challengers lost their third game at the Federation Cup in Croatia. The Challengers were the underdogs against the strongest team in the tournament, Apollo Bratislava. The Slovakians left no doubt about which team was the favorite. They started like a rocket and were already leading 11-0 after two innings. However the C’s deserve credit for not giving in and being able to convert their chances as the game progressed. They made it the full nine innings. Ultimately they lost 9-18 to the Eastern Europeans.
Ryan Byrne and Noah Nussbaum shone with three hits and three RBI each, while Simon Steffen scored three runs. Byrne was the most successful player on the Challengers side in the tournament with seven hits and five RBI. In the final on Sunday Apollo Bratislava will face the host Vindija Varazdin.
Schedule:
Thursday, June 6th: Sofia Blues vs. Zürich Challengers 11-0 (8 in.)
Friday, June 7th: Zürich Challengers vs. Vindija Varazdin 7-10
Saturday, June 8th: Apollo Bratislava vs. Zürich Challengers 18-9
Sunday, June 9th, Final: Vindija Varazdin vs. Apollo Bratislava 7-5