Ten days after the Challengers and Flyers’ first teams faced off, the second teams of these two long-established clubs will meet this coming Sunday at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The Challengers will be looking to continue their positive streak against the Flyers, who are still without a victory. First pitch is at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
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Setback after Extra-Inning Drama
The Challengers needed to win both games against their city rivals, the Zurich Lions, to keep their hopes of advancing to the Master Round alive.
Playing at their home ballpark Heerenschürli the Challengers were determined to secure the two victories. After the Lions opened the scoring with a run in the first inning, the Challengers responded strongly with four runs in the second. The Challengers steadily extended their lead throughout the game, ultimately fulfilling their obligation with an 11-5 win. Säntis Zeller and Leonel Hernandez Reyes each had three hits, Carsten Zuber had two hits and three RBIs, and Simon Steffen scored a triple and three runs. Pitcher Ari Lonstein secured the win in his season debut. He allowed four hits, four runs (only two earned), and four walks in five innings, striking out ten. Jasper Freigang secured the save with two hits, one run, five walks, and two strikeouts in four innings.
The second game also started well for the Challengers. After the Lions took a 1-0 lead, hits by David Castillo, Fabrizio Bucher, and Leonel Hernandez Reyes initially tied the game. However, the visitors missed their chance to take the lead due to baserunning errors. They made up for it in the fourth inning when Carsten Zuber and Säntis Zeller scored to make it 3-1. But suddenly, the game took a different turn. Having managed just one hit in the first three innings, the Lions’ offense now exploded. In the next two innings, they racked up eight hits — including home runs by Pedro Lopez Suriel and Pedro Mateo Benitez — and nine runs. But the Challengers didn’t give up. In the sixth inning, they cut the deficit to 6-10, and in the last minutes, two-run doubles by Fabrizio Bucher and Shadir Mora Soler tied the game at 10-10.
So the game went to extra innings. The eighth inning saw no runs, but in the ninth, the Challengers scored three runs. Their chances of winning now seemed good. Although the Lions scored one run to make it 11-13, the visitors recorded two quick outs. And the Challengers needed just one more strike for the win — until the Lions hit a two-run double to tie the game again. So a tenth inning was needed. While the Challengers couldn’t score, the Lions scored the decisive run on a wild pitch for a walk-off victory.
This means the Challengers will need a minor miracle to still be in contention for the playoffs in June.
U12 Victories on Mother’s Day
The U12 Juveniles won both games against the SG Wittenbach-Romanshorn/Embrach Baseball Team/Zurich Lions on Mother’s Day in Embrach, remaining the only undefeated Juveniles team.
The Challengers delivered a consistently strong performance in the Zurich Unterland. In the first game of the doubleheader, they were already leading 7-1 after two innings. They ultimately prevailed 14-5. The start of the second game was a bit more sluggish. However, the visitors found their rhythm as the game progressed and extended a 3-1 lead after two innings into a 13-2 victory.
Barracudas win Softball-Derby
The Mother’s Day softball derby ended with a victory for the Zurich Barracudas, who wore pink as part of the Pink Ribbon campaign. The Challengers kept the game close for a long time before finally collapsing.
The game started promisingly for the visitors. Lara Müller brought home the first two runs with a two-run double in the first inning. Although the Barracudas took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning, Simona Cellar prevented further damage with an unassisted double play. The home team extended their lead to 4-2 in the second inning with a double steal, but the Challengers remained persistent. After a double by Carmen Lutz-Demetz, hits from Karen Hendren and Mia Matas cut the deficit to 3-4. Then, however, the game turned around. The Barracudas increased the pressure, while the Challengers could no longer mask their numerous absences. The home team used several wild pitches to extend their lead before Andrea Brändli stylishly ended the game with a 3-run home run over the fence in left field to make it 15-3.
Premiere for Prospect League
The Prospect League, newly founded by the Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation, celebrated its premiere on Saturday. The Challengers’ games were promising.
The Prospect League for players under 21 years of age was launched this season. Its aim is twofold. To give young players more playing time and to foster a love of the game through competition among their peers. The Challengers are participating in this Prospect League as part of a joint team with the Hünenberg Unicorns and the Lucerne Eagles. The joint team celebrated its premiere in Therwil with games against the Zurich Barracudas and the Therwil Flyers.
And it started with a high-caliber duel against the Barracudas. The Challengers opened the game with three consecutive hits by Jason Wüger, Bastian Kämpfer, and Fabrizio Bucher, resulting in the first run. From then on, it was a tight game. The Barracudas evened the score in the third inning and capitalized on two defensive errors by the SG in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. However, this lead didn’t last long. A two-run double by Bastian Kämpfer tied the game in the fifth, and Fabrizio Bucher followed up with an RBI single to make it 4-3. That’s how it ended. Pitcher Jason Wüger allowed only six hits and three runs – one earned – and three walks in the six innings for the win, striking out eight.
The second game against the host team from Therwil started off differently. Drew Creeden put his team on the board with a three-run home run. He later added a two-run triple and a two-run double, racking up seven RBIs for a 9-0 lead. Then the offense of the Zurich-Central Swiss team finally came alive as well. Fabrizio Bucher and Bastian Kämpfer initially cut the deficit to 3-9, before Jonathan Rüggerberg, Jimmy Siemers, Jonathan Egger, and Jason Wüger narrowed the gap to 7-9 with their runs in the fourth inning. However, the Flyers had the final say, ultimately winning 12-7.
World Baseball Softball Day on Sunday
This Sunday marks the international World Baseball Softball Day. It premiered on May 10, 2024 and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), which was established in 2014 following the successful merger of the International Baseball Federation and the International Softball Federation. Since then, baseball and softball have been united under one roof.
At the same time, the upcoming weekend will be a busy one for the Challengers organization. For example, the first game day of the new Prospect League will take place on Saturday. This new format for the U21 age group aims to provide young players with more playing time and competitive games against their peers. The Challengers/Unicorns/Eagles combined team will face the U21 teams of the Zurich Barracudas and the Therwil Flyers in Therwil for the first game day. The games start at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
This Saturday, the U15 Challengers will take the field for the first time this season. They will host the Geneva Dragons 1 and the Therwil Flyers 2 in Hünenberg at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, respectively.
The Challengers’ first team needs two wins on Sunday in the small Zurich derby against the Zurich Lions if they want to keep their hopes of reaching the Master Round. The games will be played at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM at the Heerenschürli ball park in Zurich-Schwamendingen.
Another derby is on the cards in softball. The Zurich Barracudas will host the Zurich Challengers in Rümlang Rümelbach on Sunday afternoon. The single game will begin after two junior games.
Also on Sunday, the U12 Juveniles, who have started the season with two wins, will face the SG Wittenbach-Romanshorn/Embrach Baseball Team/Zurich Lions in Embrach. The games start at 11:00 and 13:30 in Embrach PZ Hard.
Successful Season Opener for the Juveniles
On Sunday, the youngest Challengers also started into their 2026 season. And they returned from Lucerne with two victories under their belts.
For many of the new players that joined the U12 Juveniles team since the end of last season, Sunday’s game at the Reussbühl Hinterruopigen field marked their first competitive outing. The young players performed remarkably well, earning two impressive wins. In the first game of the day, the Challengers defeated the host Lucerne Eagles 17-4, before following up with a 20-4 victory in their second game against the SG Lausanne Indians/Martigny District Baseball/Bulle Baseball from western Switzerland.
Swiss Champions too strong
The Challengers were outmatched against the still-undefeated defending champions, the Therwil Flyers, suffering two decisive defeats.
Due to the Palomino U19 tournament taking place simultaneously in Stuttgart, the Challengers had to significantly change their lineup once again. However, the fact that the duel between the two arch-rivals on Sunday at Zurich’s Heerenschürli ballpark was so one-sided, was primarily due to the strong performance of the visitors from Therwil. The defending champions started like a house on fire, their hits finding the gaps between the Challengers’ defensive players with surgical precision – or, as in the case of Taylor Carr in the first inning and Hide Oshima in the third, sending the ball over the wall and into the Dübendorf recreation area. Twelve runs in the first inning decided the game early on. The home team, with hits from Säntis Zeller and David Castillo and an RBI groundout by Noam Blickenstorfer in the fourth inning, barely managed to avert a shutout loss. The final score was 1-19. Shaen Bernhardt provided the highlight for Zurich with a double.
In the second game, the Flyers weren’t quite as dominant. Instead, they received help from some misplays by the Challengers defense, which led to a total of five unearned runs. Although the Basel team again scored three early runs in the first inning, that was all they could manage until the fourth, when the Challengers’ string of errors sealed their fate. The final score this time was 0-10. However, with only one hit, by Carsten Zuber in the sixth inning, there was little chance of winning against the reigning champions anyway. This coming Sunday, the Challengers need two wins against the Zurich Lions on their last preliminary round game day to maintain any chance of advancing to the master round.
Softball-Team swept by reigning Champion
The Softball-Team faced the reigning Swiss champions, the Wittenbach Panthers, on Saturday. While the defense put on a solid performance, the offense remained toothless.
Due to numerous absences, the Challengers have had to constantly reshuffle their lineup this season. This makes their rock-solid defensive performance all the more remarkable. Young pitcher Vianne Benz also impressed in her second start at the senior level. Alongside the ever-present Leandra Simitovic, she allowed only five hits in Game 1. Offensively, however, the Zurich team showed little output. Just three hits in the first game and only two runners in scoring position explain the 0-7 loss.
Game 2 was a similar story. The only differences were the Panthers’ stronger hitting and the fact that the Challengers managed to score three runs this time, thanks to a two-run double by Karen Hendren, Gisele Pinck and Carmen Lutz-Demetz scored, followed by another run from Hendren in the third inning. At that point, however, the women from Eastern Switzerland were already nine lengths ahead. In the end they won 13-3.
Challengers host Flyers on Sunday
On Sunday, the Zurich Challengers and the Therwil Flyers will face off in a traditional duel at the Heerenschürli ballpark. No other teams have met more frequently. Since 1994 the two teams will clash for the 172nd and 173rd time on Sunday, and since the Swiss Championship began in 1982, the two founding members of the Federation have met over two hundred times. First pitch is at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
The history between the Challengers Softball-Team and the Wittenbach Panthers is much shorter. However, there have already been some exciting games between them, for example, in the finals from 2021 to 2023. Currently, the Challengers are considered underdogs against the defending champions, even though the Panthers suffered a surprising loss to the Lucerne Eagles on Opening Day. The games will take place on Saturday at 11:00 AM and 1:30 PM in Wittenbach Sonnenrain.
Furthermore, the U12 Juveniles will be in action on Sunday. The Challengers’ youngest team will face the Lucerne Eagles and the Lausanne Indians in Lucerne Reussbühl. The games start at 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM at Hinterruopigen.