For the first time this season the NLA-Team will be playing at their home field Heerenschürli on Sunday. After the completion of the impressive new back stop, play resumed at the end of May. For their home debut, the Challengers will host the Zurich Barracudas’ second team. Games will be held at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
The NLB-Team will also be in action on Sunday. The Challengers will face the Unicorns in Hünenberg, Canton Zug. The two neighboring teams in the standings will play at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The Unicorns have won six of their eight games so far, while the Challengers have a 4-2 record.
The U12-Juveniles will be playing on Saturday. The Challengers will host the Lucerne Eagles in the top match of the Eastern Group. Both teams have only one loss to their name. Games start at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Home Opener on Sunday
Eagles and Challengers Softball-Teams with one W each
Following the baseball team’s double header on Saturday, the softball team also played in Lucerne on Sunday. And the women’s team also ended up splitting. While the Challengers increased their pace in the first game and secured a comfortable 26-14 victory, they were ineffective offensively in Game 2, ultimately losing 1-8.
It began as a wild game. Numerous hits, numerous walks, and numerous errors made the officials, especially the scorer, sweat. The Eagles managed to claw back the deficits they had incurred until the game was tied at 12-12 after three innings. But they were unable to respond the Challengers’ 14-12 lead in the fourth inning. Meanwhile the Challengers kept their foot on the gas until the very end, taking the opener 26-14.
Carmen Lutz-Demetz had three of the 17 hits. She also totaled five RBI. Taylor McCants and Simona Cellar also had three hits and two RBI each, Alexia Zingg added two hits and three RBI, and Anouchka Michel had one hit and three RBI. Leandra Simitivic was credited with the win, as she gave up two runs in 4.2 innings as a reliever, allowing four hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.
The second game lasted exactly half as long as the morning’s matchup. The main reason was that the Challengers couldn’t find a way to counter the pitching of Eagles pitcher Rio Sanchez. Meanwhile the home team scored one or two runs in each inning, so Sanchez’s two-run home run in the fifth inning to make it 8-1 set the deal. Lara Müller drove in the Challengers’ only run in the second inning, making it 1-1.
NLA-Team saves a split in Lucerne
The Lucerne Eagles and the Zurich Challengers played two evenly matched games. In Game 1, however, the Eagles broke the deadlock in the seventh inning, giving the Eagles a mercy-rule win. In Game 2 the Eagles tied the game at the last minute, but the Challengers prevailed in extra innings, winning 4-3.
The Challengers presented the youngest Challengers team roster in this millennium in Lucerne. Only four regulars made the trip to central Switzerland. In return, the young talents received plenty of playing time. And the young guns performed well for long stretches. Although the visitors were unable to generate much offensive output, the game was tied 1-1 midway through the seventh inning. Starting pitcher Florin Kämpfer kept his team in the game. In five innings, he gave up only one unearned run and one hit, with seven walks and four strikeouts. The eternal Säntis Zeller was able to erase this 0-1 deficit in the seventh inning when he reached home on a wild pitch. But in the bottom half of the seventh inning, all the dams broke. The Challengers pitchers were no longer hitting the strike zone and loaded the bases multiple times, allowing the home team to score no fewer than ten runs on just three hits, leading 11-1 and ending the game early.
In Game 2 Tate Stone-Frisina took over on the mound. He sent almost half of the opposing batters he faced back to the dugout with strikeouts. He also provided the offensive power that had been lacking in the first game. His RBI double in the second inning gave the Challengers their first lead of the day. In the sixth inning Florin Kämpfer increased the lead to 2-0 with an RBI double. But the Eagles managed to tie the game at 2-2 in the final minute after an RBI double by Fernando Baez and an RBI single by Junior del Rosario with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. This forced the game into extra innings. There, the Eagles made a fatal error, allowing Adderly Sarmiento to reclaim the Challengers’ lead scoring the 3-2, after which Carsten Zuber scored as well to make it 4-2. Although the home team cut the deficit in half to 3-4 with two outs, Stone-Frisina ended the game with his fourteenth strikeout, securing at least the split for his team.
Lucerne Weekend
For the Challengers, Lucerne is the focus of Ascension Day weekend. Both the baseball and softball teams will play a doubleheader in Reussbühl against the Lucerne Eagles.
For once, it’s gentlemen first. The NLA-Team will face the Eagles on Saturday. The Central Swiss team is one of the three teams that have returned to the NLA this season due to the change in format. And the Eagles have been quite successful so far, winning three of their six games so far. So the Challengers have been warned. First pitch is at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in Hinterruopigen.
The Softball-Team will face the Eagles on Sunday. The two teams are neighbors in the standings, with the Central Swiss women fighting for the playoff qualification, while the Challengers aim to stay close to the top of the standings. Games begin at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Reussbühl Hinterruopigen.
The Challengers’ newly formed Slowpitch Softball-Team will celebrate its debut on Sunday. It will play its first gameday in Bulle, where they will face the Geneva Colliders, the Swiss Toros, the Sierre Beavers, and the Therwil Flyers in a one-day tournament.
NLB-Team sweeps Mustangs
For one last time before the completion of the new backstop at the Heerenschürli ballpark, the Challengers had to play a home game on the road on Saturday. This game against the Embrach Mustangs took place on the opponent’s field. With two wins the Zurich team improved to fourth place.
The Challengers got off to a strong start. RBI singles from Regis Reinhard and Noam Blickenstorfer, a wild pitch and an RBI single from Ben Dickow secured an early 4-0 lead. Starting pitcher Regis Reinhard strung together four shutout innings before the Mustangs scored three runs. But the Challengers’ response was impressive. After RBI singles from Fabrizio Bucher and Noam Blickenstorfer, the Zurich team increased their lead to 10-3 later in the inning and took the first game 11-4.
Fabrizio Bucher had three hits, Ben Dickow had two hits and three RBIs, Jordi Bucher, Regis Reinhard and Noam Blickenstorfer each had two hits, while Bastian Kämpfer contributed four walks.
The second game of the day was hard-fought. The lead changed hands several times. But the Challengers once again had the better of it. In the fifth inning, Adderly Sarmiento brought home Jack Siemers with an RBI single to make it 11-10, after which pitchers Tate Stone-Frisina and Dalton Griswold closed the doors and prevented the Mustangs from scoring any more runs. Stone-Frisina pitched a rare immaculate inning. He needed a minimum of nine pitches for three strikeouts in the sixth inning against three opposing batters. This has happened 118 times in Major League Baseball in 150 years.
Dalton Griswold and Ben Dickow each had two hits, while Adderly Sarmiento, Fabrizio Bucher, and Bastian Kämpfer each had two RBI. With the two wins, the Challengers climb to fourth place in the league standings with four wins and two losses.
Softball-Team with split against the Swiss Champion
The first softball derby of the season at the Klopstockwiese ended in a split. The Challengers won the first game of the day 10-3. The defending champions Zurich Barracudas responded with a 10-1 victory in Game 2.
The Challengers had a good start into the new season. After four consecutive wins they suffered their first setback a week ago with two losses in Wittenbach against the Panthers. It was exciting to see how they would react against the reigning Swiss champions. And it was the Challengers who set the pace. In the first inning, they benefited from errors in the Barracudas’ defense to take a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile the Challengers’ defense put in a nearly flawless performance. Janina Liechti, a picther on loan from the Wittenbach Panthers for today’s game, had a brilliant day. The 15-year-old allowed only four hits and three runs with six walks and five strikeouts in 4.1 innings and was credited with the win. The Challengers offense also made a decisive impact. In the fourth inning, Tamara Ammeter made it 4-1 with a bunt single, before Carmen Lutz-Demetz, Isabelle Tan, and Karen Hendren pushed the score to 8-1 with three consecutive doubles. A sac bunt by Simone Zurschmitten and an RBI single by Janina Liechti completed the inning and decided the game.
The Barracudas, however, seemed to have learned their lesson for the afternoon game. The Swiss champions took a 5-0 lead in the first inning with doubles by Mariah Jameyson, Amy Mathis, and Chiara Perisset. The home team had used up all their energy in the first game. The Challengers managed just one run, thanks to an RBI single by Leandra Simitovic, and a total of six hits and eventually lost 1-10.
But overall, the Challengers could be satisfied with the gameday, having split against the defending champions.
Challengers in Action
Next Saturday three teams from the Challengers organization will be in action. A Cadets doubleheader follows on Sunday.
The first Zurich derby of the season will take place on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Klopstockwiese, when the Challengers Softball-Team will face the defending champions, the Zurich Barracudas. After the losses in Wittenbach, it will be interesting to see how the Challengers fare against the reigning champions.
The NLB-Team will play its home game on Saturday in Embrach. It’s one last time this season that they’ll be “off the grid”; the home field Heerenschürli should be ready to play again in June after the new back stop is completed. The C’s will face the Embrach Mustangs, who are looking for their first win of the season. Games begin at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at Embrach PZ Hard.
The U12-Juveniles will also be in action on Saturday. The youngest Challengers travel to Wil, where they will meet the Wil Devils and the Therwil Flyers. Games will be played at 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Lindenhof.
The U15-Cadets round out the busy schedule on Sunday in Embrach with a doubleheader against the Wil Pirates. Games will be start at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Panthers stop Softball-Team
After four consecutive wins the Challengers were stopped in their away game in Wittenbach. The Panthers prevailed 9-7 in a hard-fought game and followed with an easy 11-1 victory in the second game.
Although last year’s finalists from Eastern Switzerland were mostly on the gas, the Challengers were largely able to hold their own, at least in Game 1. The C’s erased an early 0-2 deficit thanks to an RBI single by Taylor McCants, an RBI-single by Carmen Lutz-Demetz and a run by Simona Cellar on a wild pitch to make it 3-2. The Zurich team even managed to tame a 5-run inning by the Panthers. A 2-run double by Marianne Aellen followed by an RBI double by Taylor McCants made it 6-7, and Isabelle Tan tied the score again in the fourth inning. But the Panthers took the lead once more, scoring one run each in the fourth and fifth innings. This time the Challengers couldn’t respond. While they did get some traffic on the bases, they couldn’t score any more runs.
Taylor McCants, Carmen Lutz-Demetz, Karen Hendren, and Mia Matas each had two hits for the Challengers, who even had the upper hand in hits, 11-8.
The second game, however, was a one-sided affair for the Panthers. They were already up 4-0 after two innings and responded to the Challengers’ lone run thanks to an RBI single from Isabelle Tan, posting seven runs in the third inning that ended the game early after four frames with a final score of 11-1.
The Challengers will face the champions Zurich Barracudas at home next Saturday.
Juveniles remain unbeaten
The U12-Juveniles continued their perfect start to the season and remain undefeated after their fourth gameday. They secured two unchallenged victories against the Rümlang Kobras on Sunday. In Game 1, pitchers Florian Gränz and Knox Nelson led the Zurich-based team to a 17-7 victory. The result of the second game was even more decisive. This time, the Challengers prevailed 17-1. The pitching, including starter Henry Ruffieux and relievers Len Blickenstorfer and Roy Gonzalez, played particularly well.
Continue Reading » Juveniles remain unbeatenChallengers prevail in Wil
The Challengers also collected two wins in their second home gameday away from home. The Zurich team had the stamina against the Wil Pirates, making the difference twice in the second half.
The Wil Pirates were able to keep both games open for a long time. After an early 2-0 lead for the Eastern Swiss team in Game 1, the Challengers were able to turn the game around by the fourth inning thanks to an RBI single by Ryan Byrne and two errors by the Wil defense. Errors continued to be a problem for the Pirates. They made three in the fifth inning, which the Challengers exploited. After a sac bunt by James Sanders made it 4-2, the young guard increased the lead to 7-2 with Jordi Bucher’s RBI single and Kazuki Sato’s two-run single. A sac fly by Ryan Byrne and a ground-rule double by Säntis Zeller made it 10-2. The Pirates narrowed the gap to 6-10 in the sixth inning, but the Challengers didn’t let anything slip away. Noam Blickenstorfer and Florin Kämpfer, with a sac fly to make it 16-6, caused the early end of the seventh inning.
Ryan Byrne had three hits and four RBI, Säntis Zeller shone with two hits, Kazuki Sato had two hits and two RBI, and Jack Siemers scored three runs. Meanwhile Carsten Zuber pitched a complete game, giving up seven hits and six runs with two walks and ten strikeouts.
The second game of the day followed a very similar pattern. After four innings and good pitching from Aaron Sutter for the Pirates and Florin Kämpfer for the Challengers, the scoreboard showed a 4-4 tie. But then the Challengers essentially made up the difference with two hits. Jack Siemers first put his team ahead 6-4 with a two-run double, before Ryan Byrne followed with a three-run home run to make it 9-4. Regis Reinhard brought the final outing with a two-run home run to seal the final score at 11-4.
Ryan Byrne was again the man of the game with four hits, one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Kazuki Sato had another two hits, while Tate Stone-Frisina earned his first win for the Challengers. He pitched the final four innings, giving up one hit and two runs, with three walks and nine strikeouts.