The U15-Cadets faced the two best teams from the West Group on Saturday. While they were unable to beat the Therwil Flyers, losing the game 15-4, the Challengers were able to hold their own against the Geneva Dragons. However it was just not enough. With a 5-6 loss, the Zurich team narrowly missed their first win of the season.
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The Challengers are heading east next weekend. The NLA-Team will play in Wil on Saturday, and the women’s softball team will play in Wittenbach on Sunday.
The NLA-Team will be making only its second appearance of the season on Saturday. The Challengers will also have to move their second home game due to construction works at their home ballpark, Heerenschürli. The home games against the Wil Pirates will therefore be played at the Lindenhof in Wil. The games start at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
The Softball-Team will also travel to the canton of St. Gallen on Sunday. The Challengers will face the Panthers in Wittenbach, which has also been the championship final three times in the last four years. First pitch will be at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Wittenbach Sonnenrain.
The U15-Cadets will host the Therwil Flyers and the Geneva Dragons in Hünenberg on Saturday. This means that the Challengers, who are placed in the East Group, will face the two strongest teams from the West Group. The games will take place at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Hünenberg Rony.
The U12-Juveniles team will also be in action on Sunday. The Challengers will face the Rümlang Kobras in a derby in Rümlang. The games will take place at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Rümlang Rümelbach.
Softball Team performs well on Mother’s Day
The Challengers delivered a strong performance in their home game against the Bern Cardinals on Mother’s Day. With numerous hits and nearly flawless defense, the Zurich team controlled the games at all times and celebrated two commanding home victories, 14-4 and 12-5.
The visitors only briefly had the upper hand at the beginning of the opening game, when the Cardinals got off to a perfect start with four runs in the first inning. But with a ground-rule double from Isabelle Tan and a base-clearing double from Simone Zurschmitten in the bottom half of the first inning the damage was quickly repaired from Zurich’s perspective. And in the second inning, after a run by Lara Müller on a wild pitch, Taylor McCants and Simona Cellar extended the lead to 10-4 with their two-run singles. Although the Cardinals repeatedly caused base traffic, the Challengers’ defense performed commandingly and didn’t allow any more runs. After four innings, the Challengers won 14-4.
Taylor McCants led the offense with two hits and three RBI, while Tamara Ammeter and birthday girl Carmen Lutz-Demetz had two hits each, and Anouchka Michel, Isabelle Tan, Simona Cellar, and Marianne Aellen scored two runs apiece. Simone Zurschmitten was credited with the win with two shutout innings.
The home team immediately took control in the second game as well. Karen Hendren opened the scoring with an RBI in the first inning, before the Challengers extended the lead to 6-0 thanks to Marianne Aellen’s two-run single, Anouchka Michel’s RBI single, Isabelle Tan’s RBI bunt single, and Karen Hendren’s sac bunt. The Cardinals, however, stayed in the game with some solid plays, including a two-run double by Nicole Kühni and an RBI double by Stephanie Mischler. This reduced the Challengers’ lead to 9-5 in the fifth inning. But the Zurich team managed to snag the three runs they needed to win the mercy rule by capitalizing on two errors by the Cards to secure a 12-5 victory.
Carmen Lutz-Demetz, Simone Zurschmitten, and Tamara Ammeter each had two hits, and Ammeter earned her second win of the season in three innings as a relief pitcher. Thanks to the split between last year’s finalists, the Wittenbach Panthers and the Zurich Barracudas, the Challengers, the only undefeated team, currently lead the standings. The next two weekends will reveal where the Zurich team truly stands. They will face the Panthers and the Barracudas one after the other.
Juveniles remain unbeaten
The U12-Juveniles remain undefeated after their third gameday. The Challengers defeated the Wil Devils 16-10 in the first game and 7-6 in the second, a very close game.
For the Challengers, pitchers Florian Gränz and Joaquin Nicod shone in the first game, as did Roy Gonzalez, who was credited with the win, and Henry Ruffieux, who recorded the last out for the save in Game 2.
Cadets offense powerless
It almost seemed as if the U15-Cadets had left their bats at home on Saturday. In their losses in Wil against the Rümlang Kobras and the SG Pirates, they ended the day with just four hits and a total of 23 strikeouts.
In the opening game against their cantonal rivals, the Rümlang Kobras, the Challengers’ offense was not at its level. The C’s recorded a total of just three baserunners. That wasn’t something that would give them a chance of winning. At least they were able to keep the score open at the beginning. After a run for the Kobras in the first inning and two more following a costly error by the C’s in the second, the Zurich Unterland team created the decisive difference with five runs in the third inning, making the score 8-0. In the end, the Kobras won decisively 12-0.
In the second game against the hosts, the defense didn’t hold up at the beginning. The SG Pirates opened the game with four runs. The Challengers did manage to score their first run of the day thanks to doubles from Tyler Smith and Fabrizio Bucher. After three innings, however, the Eastern Swiss team already held a decisive 11-2 lead. Fabrice Cadalbert scored runs two and three in the third and fifth innings, but this did nothing to change the 3-13 defeat.
Softball Homegame on Mother’s Day
As always, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May in Switzerland. And the Challengers Softball women’s team hosts a home game against the Bern Cardinals. After a successful start to the season against the SG Frogs/Flyers, the C’s will look to carry the momentum into their duel with the team from the Swiss capital. Games will kick off at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Klopstockwiese in Zurich-Enge.
The U15 Cadets will be in action on Saturday, aiming for their first win of the season in Wil, St. Gallen. Their opponents will once again be the Rümlang Kobras and the SG Pirates. The games begin at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. at the Wil Lindenhof.
The U12 Juveniles will also travel to Wil on Sunday. The Challengers, undefeated this season, will face the Wil Devils. The games will be played at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Lindenhof in Wil.
No Happy End for NLB-Team
The NLB-Team traveled to Lausanne on Sunday. For the first time with Tate Stone-Frisina as their new manager. However the Challengers came up empty in western Switzerland.
The Challengers got off to a perfect start under their new coach. All four of their first four batters scored. Dalton Griswold, with a two-run single, and Fabrizio Bucher, with an RBI single, contributed to the 4-0 lead. But the hosts also got off to a strong start offensively. After two innings the Indians were already ahead 5-4 before they went on a tear. In the fourth inning they pulled ahead 13-4. The final score was 16-5.
The second game of the day was much closer. But after a roller coaster end the Indians once again emerged victorious. Lausanne took a 3-0 lead in the third. In the fourth inning Kazuki Sato brought Jasper Freigang home with an RBI groundout and put the Challengers in the game. And the C’s even tied the game in the sixth inning. After an RBI single by Regis Reinhard, Samuel Rodriguez Bautista made it 3-3 with an RBI double. But the home team countered with two runs of their own. This left the Challengers with their backs against the wall going into the final inning. Noam Blickenstorfer, Jordi Bucher and Dalton Griswold immediately created a bases loaded situation with no outs. And the turned things around. After a wild pitch and a 2-run single by Regis Reinhard, the visitors were suddenly ahead 6-5. But the Indians had the final word. After a leadoff single and two stolen bases by Arnaud Droxler, Maxime Fayol tied the game before the latter scored on a bunt single by Yves Rhys to secure a walk-off win for the Indians.
Juveniles narrowly defeat Kobras
Due to the poor weather forecast for Sunday, the Kobras and Challengers officials agreed to move the doubleheader to Saturday. This seemed to be the right strategy. Although it wasn’t completely dry on Saturday, both games could still be played.
While the Challengers clearly defeated the Kobras on Opening Day, the two games on Saturday were close affairs. But once again the Challengers prevailed. They beat the Kobras 8-6 and 7-5 in two close games and remain undefeated at the top of the standings.
Juveniles games moved to Saturday at Rümlang
Due to the poor weather forecast for Sunday, the U12-Juveniles games between the Rümlang Kobras and the Challengers have been moved to Saturday, May 3. The games will be played in Rümlang instead.
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The U12-Juveniles will play for the first time this season on Sunday, May 4, at their home field, Klopstockwiese, in Zurich-Enge. They will host their cantonal rivals, the Rümlang Kobras. The Challengers defeated the Zurich Unterländers 14-3 on the first gameday of the season at the beginning of April. The Kobras will be pushing hard to achieve a better result. The games begin at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
NLB-Team travels to Lausanne
The NLB-Team will play its second gameday of the season next Sunday in Lausanne. After their two victories on Opening Day against the Therwil Flyers, the Challengers will look to carry the momentum. The Lausanne Indians celebrated a walk-off win against the Hünenberg Unicorns in their season opener, but lost the second game despite a 6-1 lead. The games begin at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at the Terrain de Chavannes.
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