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.

Continue Reading » Crazy softball doubleheader

The doubleheader between the Lucerne Eagles and the Zurich Challengers was not for the faint of heart. The two teams pushed each other to the limit over a total of four and a half hours. While the Challengers ultimately prevailed in Game 1 with a clear 15-8 victory, they were only able to settle Game 2 in the third extra inning.
The visitors from Central Switzerland got off to a better start. The Eagles took a 5-0 lead in the second inning. However, the home team didn’t panic and narrowed the lead to 4-6 by the third inning. And they turned the game around in the fourth. The Challengers loaded the bases with no outs before Anouchka Michel with an RBI groundout and Lara Müller with an RBI single tied the game at 6-6. Once they got going, the Challengers never let up. Marianne Aellen gave her team its first lead with an RBI single, before Simona Cellar added an RBI groundout and Carmen Lutz-Demetz added a two-run double and a steal to home to make it 11-6. The Eagles narrowed the gap to 8-11, but Aellen and Cellar’s RBI singles, along with Lutz-Demetz’s another two-run double, ended the game early in the fifth.
Carmen Lutz-Demetz had three hits and four RBI, Simona Cellar had two hits and four RBI, while Tamara Ammeter, Lara Müller, and Marianne Aellen each collected two hits.
The second game featured a pitcher’s duel between American Georgia Ingle for the Eagles and Leandra Simitovic for the Challengers. The battle was on a knife-edge throughout the game. No team ever led by more than a run, and the Challengers managed to tie a visitors’ lead four times. The Eagles opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI double by Noelani Scazzariello. The lead held until the fifth inning before Isabelle Tan broke the Eagles’ defense with a bunt single. But in the very next inning, the Central Swiss team struck back with an RBI double by Michelle Keller. But the Challengers immediately tied the game again with a bunt single by Lara Müller. With the score tied at 2-2, the game went into extra innings. And the drama unfolded. The Eagles brought the ghost runner across the plate in both the seventh and eighth innings, but the Challengers also managed to score a run on both occasions. The visitors escaped a bases loaded situation in both innings and thus avoided defeat. In the tenth inning, however, the Challengers survived the Eagles’ attack unscathed, giving them another chance to win. And indeed, they did. Designated runner Marianne Aellen advanced to third base on a wild pitch and profited from an opposing error to secure the 5-4 walk-off win.
Georgia Ingle ultimately surrendered twelve hits and five runs in nine innings, only one earned, with 13 strikeouts, while Leandra Simitovic became the first pitcher in Challengers history to pitch ten innings, in which she gave up ten hits and four runs, also only one earned, and recorded eight strikeouts. The one against Alexandra Aregger in the ninth inning was the 900th strikeout of her career.

Continue Reading » Softball-Team sweeps Eagles in third Eaxtra-Inning

After recent strong performances, the Challengers Softball-Team was devastated by league leaders Wittenbach Panthers. The Eastern Swiss team allowed virtually nothing and walked away with two wins from Zurich.
In the morning game both teams showed several spectacular defensive plays. Both pitchers, Felicitas Schatton for the Panthers and Anouchka Michel for the Challengers, had a good day too. This prevented their offenses from flourishing. Overall, however, the visitors from Eastern Switzerland had a slight advantage, resulting in a well-deserved 7-0 victory.
In the second game of the day, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead again. But the Challengers also had their moments on offense this time. Marianne Aellen brought home Karen Hendren and Simone Zuschnitten with a two-run double, turning the game around. After three innings, the score was tied 2-2. But then the Challengers came to a standstill. The league leader scored eight runs off six hits and two errors, clinching the game. The Challengers’ offense lacked the necessary punch on Saturday, resulting in another decisive 4-15 defeat.

Continue Reading » First placed Panthers too strong for Challengers

The Zurich Barracudas and Zurich Challengers softball teams shared the wins again in Saturday’s second doubleheader in Rümlang. The Challengers won a rollercoaster Game 1, while the Barracudas turned Game 2 around.
Due to the heat first pitch was moved up an hour. However both teams showed their readiness. The first game of the day was back-and-forth. The Challengers immediately pulled ahead 5-0. The Barracudas recovered this deficit by the third inning. The home team also had an answer to the Challengers’ 6-5 lead that came thanks to a solo home run by Alexia Zingg. And with the Challengers leading again at 7-6, Andrea Brändli hit an RBI triple before giving her team the lead for the first time after a wild pitch. But the visitors had the final word. Janina Liechti tied the game with an RBI single, and Simone Zuschnitten made it 9-8. The Challengers extended their lead to 11-8 in the final inning following an error by the home team.
Isabelle Tan had three hits, Alexia Zingg had two hits with a home run and scored three runs, Taylor McCants and Karen Hendren each had two hits, while Simone Zuschnitten had one hit and three RBI. Karen Heimgartner earned the win, as she gave up five hits and three runs in 4.2 innings, with four walks and six strikeouts.
The Challengers were close to snatching a second win from Rümlang. They took a 6-2 lead with five runs in the third inning and were still ahead 9-6 in the fifth. But then the defense couldn’t get out of the inning, while the Barracudas scored no fewer than nine runs and were able to turn the game around. The Challengers couldn’t add more than two runs to make it 11-15. Although they were clearly ahead 15-10 in hits, the ten walks given up ultimately cost them the win.
Taylor McCants exploded for four hits and three runs, Isabelle Tan again had three hits and three RBI, while Simona Cellar, Carmen Lutz-Demetz and Karen Heimgartner all had two hits apiece.

Continue Reading » Zurich Softball-Teams split again

The Softball-Team swept the SG Sissach Frogs/Therwil Flyers. The Challengers were challenged little on their way to their 16-0 and 19-9 victories.
The visitors got off to a very focused start in Therwil. A bases-loaded walk by Isabelle Tan made it 1-0, a two-run double by Alexia Zingg made it 3-0, and a wild pitch and another walk with the bases loaded by Vianne Benz made it 5-0. This was enough for the win, as 17-year-old guest pitcher Janina Liechti from the Panthers once again delivered a strong performance as a pitcher. She allowed only two hits in four innings, with zero walks, one hit-by-pitch, and eight strikeouts for a shutout win. Meanwhile, the offense kept its foot on the gas and the game ended 16-0 after four innings. Carmen Lutz-Demetz had two hits and three RBI, Simona Cellar had two hits and two RBI and Alexia Zingg had three RBI.
The second game initially continued in the same vein. The Challengers took a 14-0 lead before the home team managed to at least slightly narrow the gap. However, this did nothing to change the Zurich team’s 19-9 victory.
Simona Cellar had an in-the-park home run and two hits with two RBI, Carmen Lutz-Demetz and Alexia Zingg each delivered two hits and three RBI, Larissa D’Hondt belted two doubles, Simone Zusrschmitten had two hits and Mrinalika Singh Dev and Amanda Marxer contributed two RBI each.

Continue Reading » Two wins for the Softball-Team