The Softball-Team traveled to Therwil for its opening day, where they faced the SG Flyers/Panthers. In cold and wet conditions the Challengers won decisively 22-7. The second game was canceled due to rain.
Continue Reading » Opening Day Win for Softball-TeamPosts in the Front page category:
Second Team topped by Indians
On Sunday the new season also started for the Challengers’ second team. In the National League Group A the Zurich team suffered two clear defeats on the road against the Lausanne Indians.
The Lausanne team was more dangerous offensively and consistently pressured the visitors with heavy base traffic. The Challengers managed only one clean inning, trailing 1-6 after two innings and ultimately losing the opening game 4-15. Jordi Bucher was the only Zurich player with two hits and scored three of the Challengers’ four runs.
In the second game, the Challengers again got off to a poor start. They were already down by seven runs after the first inning. The visitors recovered somewhat and were able to keep pace with the Indians for the remainder of the game. However, the damage was done and the Challengers had to concede defeat in game two as well, losing 7-17. Joseph Stotz shone with two doubles, while Patrick Zöllig and Tyler Smith each had two hits.
Split on Opening Day after Walk-off Homerun
On Saturday, the Zurich Barracudas Academy and the Zurich Challengers opened the new baseball season at the Heerenschürli ballpark. Both games were back-and-forth affairs, with each team ultimately securing a victory. Game 2 went to extra innings, with the Challengers taking the win in a dramatic fashion.
In the opening game both teams initially showed signs of lacking game practice. Plagued by several errors the Challengers led 8-6 after three innings. However, in the fifth inning the Academy stepped up their game. A two-run triple by Yuki Nagae tied the game and after two more runs Tiago Lutz extended the lead to 12-8 with a two-run single. Despite an in-the-park home run by Fabrizio Bucher, the Challengers were unable to overcome this deficit and ultimately lost 11-14. Fabrizio Bucher recorded two hits for the Challengers, including a solo home run, while playing coach David Castillo and Simon Steffen had two hits apiece.
The second game was a back-and-forth affair. Both teams took the lead twice, but each managed to tie the game twice as well. Consequently, the game went into extra innings. The Academy as the visiting team struck first. After an error by the Challengers’ defense on a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly by Kai Wilson, the Barracudas took an 8-6 lead. But the Challengers had the final words. First, Noam Blickenstorfe batted in the two ghost runners with a two-run double to tie the game again, before Florin Kämpfer ended the game with an exclamation mark belting a walk-off home run over the wall in right center field.
Opening Day
The 2026 baseball and softball season kicks off on the weekend of April 11th and 12th. The Challengers are playing in full strenght.
The first team will host the Zurich Barracudas Academy at the Heerenschürli ballpark on Saturday for the season opener of the newly formed National League. Games start at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
Meanwhile, the second team travels to Lausanne on Sunday, where the Challengers will face the Lausanne Indians at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
Also on Sunday, the women’s softball team begins its new season. The Challengers will play the SG Therwil Flyers/Wittenbach Panthers at 11:00 AM and 1:30 PM in Therwil Känelmatt.
Even the youngest players will be in action on Sunday. The U12 Juveniles will host the Therwil Flyers at 11:00 AM and 1:30 PM at Klopstockwiese.
Nico Bucher new President of the Zurich Federation
On Monday evening, the general assembly of the Baseball and Softball Federation of the Canton and City of Zurich took place in the Probstei shooting sports center in Zurich-Schwamendingen. Nico Bucher was elected as the new president of the federation.
Bucher succeeds Urs Köstinger, who stepped down after 17 years at the top of the federation. Bucher has been involved in youth development for many years, e.g. serving as team manager of the Challengers Cadets since 2022. He is currently team manager of the Challengers’ NLB team and the U18 Baseball Nationalteam. The existing board members Danica Mathis, Manuel Hirtz and Serge Kuenzler were confirmed in their positions for another year.
Mourning for Sandrine Montandon
The Challengers Baseball & Softball Club has the sad duty to inform you that our former softball player Sandrine Montandon passed away on Monday after a long illness. She was 45 years old.
She had cystic fibrosis and because of this illness, required a lung transplant 15 years ago. She had been a Challenger since the Softball-Team’s re-establishment in 2004 and she continued playing softball until 2019, even after her transplant surgery. She also initiated the Challengers’ Challenge on organ donation within our club. Sandrine was a great fighter and a role model for everyone with her resilience and courage. She was part of our club community and her loss will be felt by teammates, coaches and friends across the organization.
President Mindy Siemers: “On behalf of the club, we extend our sincere condolences to her family, loved ones and all those who had the privilege of knowing her. We ask you to keep her and her family in your thoughts during this difficult time.”
On her final journey, she wore her Challengers uniform. It was her wish.
46th Challengers General Assembly
On Sunday, the Challengers Baseball & Softball Club Zurich held its 46th Annual General Assembly at the Linde Oberstrass restaurant in Zurich. President Mindy Siemers reviewed the 2025 season, which saw a silver medal for the U12 Juveniles and two third-place finishes in Softball and the Baseball NLA, as well as the debut of the newly formed slowpitch team and a whole bunch of club and team events, clinics, and school projects.
Treasurer Nicola Ernst presented a very positive financial report, the profit from which will be mainly reinvested in coaching in the coming season.
Furthermore, the board introduced the new coaching staffs of the various teams for the 2026 season, in particular David Castillo, who will be the new head coach of the Baseball NLA-Team, and presented the Challengers “Next Generation” concept, which focuses on the targeted development of young players. Isabelle Tan explained the club’s activities within the framework of the “Atleta” project, which aims to increase the participation of girls in city-wide club sports. Lara Müller presented the next steps regarding this topic and provided an overview of the follow-up project for 2026/27 within the framework of the UEFA Women’s Euro Legacy, in cooperation with the City of Zurich, aimed at promoting girls and women in football and other sports.
The board will be expanded for the upcoming season. The resignation of Isabelle Tan will be compensated for by the newly elected members Karen Hendren, Jean-Claude Nicod, and Noam Blickenstorfer. The current members Carlos Nepomuceno, Un-Hie Gonzalez, Nicola Ernst, and President Mindy Siemers were unanimously re-elected for another year.
Happy Holidays
The Challengers Baseball & Softball Club wishes everyone in the Challengers family a happy and healthy holiday season.
Challengers Bowling Night
While the baseball and softball fields are closed and the clubs are busy planning for the upcoming season, the Challengers competed in ten frames instead of nine innings at Bowling West in Schlieren on Friday evening. Although strikes were still the goal and a perfect game is a rare occurrence, the focus this time was on socializing. Nearly 30 Challengers – from juniors to active players, coaches, board members, and former greats – spent two hours knocking down pins. At the end, President Mindy Siemers presented the Golden Pin to Tate Stone-Frisina, who, according to unofficial results, knocked down the most pins.
Continue Reading » Challengers Bowling NightHitting & Pitching Clinic with Mariëlle Vleugels
For the third time already the Zurich Challengers are hosting the Softball Hitting & Pitching Clinic with Mariëlle Vleugels in Zurich. On Saturday and Sunday, the Swiss softball players can take various lessons with the former Dutch National Team player, 2022 European Champion, and current Assistant Coach of the Dutch National Softball Team. Registration and further details can be found on the Challengers Facebook page.
Continue Reading » Hitting & Pitching Clinic with Mariëlle Vleugels