The NLA-Team will host the Wil Pirates for a night game at the Heerenschürli ballpark on Saturday evening. The Challengers urgently need a win in the fight for a place in the final. At the beginning of May, the first encounter of the season ended with a split. The game starts at 6 p.m.
The NLB-Team will play an away game against the Hünenberg Unicorns on Saturday. At the end of April the Unicorns won twice at the Heerenschürli. The Challengers will try to take revenge for the home defeats. The games start at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
On Sunday the Softball-Team will also travel to central Switzerland. The Challengers will meet the Luzern Eagles in Reussbühl Hinterruopigen at 11 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. The Challengers clearly won the first two games between the two teams in Zurich.
NLA night game on Saturday
Another derby loss for Softball-Team
The fourth Zurich softball derby was won by the Zurich Barracudas again. In cold, wet conditions they celebrated a comfortable 9-1 victory against the Challengers, thus winning their fourth derby within a month.
The Challengers’ performance matched the mediocre scenery. They were not as secure on defense as their opponents, they made too many mistakes in base running and were largely unlucky on offense. In any case the overall package was not enough to have a chance against the young and agile Barracudas team. After the first inning the home team was already behind 1-5. In the end they lost 1-9. A double from Lara Müller and a nice hit from Anouchka Michel were the rare highlights from the Challengers’ point of view. While the first two games against the Barracudas were close, they suffered clear losses in the last two games. Sunday offers the opportunity to regain some self-confidence with a better performance. The Challengers will then face the Luzern Eagles in Reussbühl. They had won against them twice in the first gameday in Zurich.
Challengers with exploit against Therwil
The Challengers impressed in Game 1 with a strong offensive performance and defeated the leader in the standings Therwil Flyers 15-4. They also held up well in Game 2, but a costly error and a lack of luck led to a 0-3 loss.
In the fight to qualify for the finals the Zurich team urgently needed an exploit. And it started well. Leadoff batter Ryan Byrne showed the way with a home run over the center field fence. Shortly afterwards they increased their lead to 2-0. The Flyers equalized in the second inning with a 2-run homer by Ferlon Gijsbertha to make it 2-2, but this score only lasted for a short time. The Challengers took the lead again by two runs in the third inning and in the fourth inning Geoffrey Mäder made it 7-2 with a 3-run home run after singles by Noah Nussbaum and Ryan Byrne. In the end the guests totaled 25 hits and celebrated a 15-4 victory.
Man of the match was Geoffrey Mäder with four hits, including two home runs, and six RBI. Ryan Byrne and Noah Nussbaum each had five hits, while Leonel Sosa Marte and Regis Reinhard contributed three hits each to the win.
The Challengers would have liked to have saved their offensive power for the second game. Although they were once again ahead in terms of hits with 6-4, they were unable to convert their scoring opportunities into runs this time. Three baserunners were unluckily out and a fatal error in the third inning, which cost two runs, was decisive for the 0-3 defeat. James Sanders led the offense with three hits, while Ryan Byrne only gave up one earned run and four hits in six innings, with five walks and three strikeouts.
Juveniles finish in first place
The U12-Juveniles played a doubleheader against the SG Eagles/Unicorns in Lucerne to end the preliminary round. After a clear 20-3 win in the first game of the day, the second game was much closer. Ultimately the Challengers narrowly won 10-7 and finished the preliminary round in first place.
The Final Four tournament will take place after the summer holidays on August 31st. The venue is not yet known, but the semi-final opponent is. It will once again be a traditional duel with the Therwil Flyers, who finished second in the very strong West group.
Softball-Team swept by Barracudas
The Challengers can only partially keep up with the young Zurich Barracudas team. After a four-run rally by the Challengers the first game ends with a 10-12 loss. Game 2 was a one-sided affair for the Barracudas.
After the derby defeat in the first game against the Barracudas almost ten days ago the Challengers had to reduce their error rate if they wanted to have a chance of winning. The start of the game was not good, but thanks to a 3-run double from Alexia Zingg the C’s quickly came back to 4-5. The Barracudas were able to add some more runs, but the Challengers tied the game at 8-8 in the fourth and fifth innings. But in the bottom half of the fifth inning, they allowed the home team four runs with no fewer than three errors. Isabelle Tan brought her team within striking distance again in the sixth inning with a 2-run home run to make it 10-12, but the last five batters were all out and the game was lost which resulted in a loss.
Isabelle Tan and Alexia Zingg each recorded two hits and three RBI, Simone Zuschnitten had two hits with two RBI and Carmen Lutz-Demetz and Leandra Simitovic also delivered two hits each.
The guests were out of steam for Game 2. They fell behind 0-5 early on and the Barracudas sealed the deal with no fewer than eleven runs in the third inning. In the end the Challengers lost 3-16. Tuesday evening is their last chance to win a derby in the preliminary round. They will host the Barracudas at 7 p.m. on the Klopstockwiese.
1st League game washed out again
The season for the 1st League-Team is not looking good. After three months of the 2024 season the Challengers have only been able to play one single game. Seven games had to be canceled due to weather. By comparison, Martigny District Baseball from the West Group has already played twelve games in the same period.
Continue Reading » 1st League game washed out againCadets with split
48 hours after winning the night game against the SG Unicorns/Eagles, the U15 Cadets met the SG Pirates in Embrach. After a clear 18-2 and a no-hitter in the first game, they lost 8-9 in the second game. And this after an 8-0 lead.
The opening game was a one-sided affair. The Challengers scored at least four runs in each inning, while pitchers Jasper Freigang and Ben Dickow combined for a no-hitter. Fabrizio Bucher shone with a double and a triple as well as four RBI, Tyler Smith contributed two hits to the win and Noam Müller scored four runs.
The second game started in a similar vein. The Challengers quickly took an 8-0 lead. But suddenly the thread broke. The SG Pirates first shortened the lead to 3-8 and while the Challengers suddenly no longer succeeded offensively, the Eastern Swiss team scored run after run. The game was tied at 8-8 going into the last inning. Despite having runners on second and third base with no outs, the Challengers were unable to take the lead. Meanwhile, they allowed their opponents to score the decisive run with a hit-by-pitch, an error and two wild pitches, making it 9-8. Despite their second loss the Challengers remain at the top of the standings with a 9-2 record.
Cadets win night game at Hünenberg
The U15 Cadets won the make-up game on Thursday evening in Hünenberg with 14-8. The result is a little misleading, as the game was completely even for four innings.
The Challengers seemed to have benefited from the unusually late start time. In the make-up game for the doubleheader against the SG Unicorns/Eagles, which was canceled last Saturday due to rain, they landed no fewer than twenty hits and remained errorless in defense. Nevertheless it was a neck-and-neck race with the Central Swiss team for a long time. The guests took 1-0, 3-1 and 6-3 leads, but the SG Unicorns/Eagles immediately equalized each time. In the fourth inning, Yannik Hobi and Ilai Blickenstorfer brought the Challengers back into the lead by two runs with back-to-back doubles. This time the home team was no longer able to keep the pace. And the later the evening, the better the Zurich team became. With seven hits, including two doubles from Ben Dickow and Fabrizio Bucher, they scored six runs in the fifth inning. The Central Swiss team had no answer to that.
Noam Müller, Ben Dickow, Tyler Smith and Ilai Blickenstorfer each delivered three hits, while Fabrizio Bucher, Yannik Hobi and Jimmy Siemers had two hits each. Ben Dickow was credited with the win, while Tyler Smith, who came to the mound with the score at 8-7 in the fourth inning, recorded the save.
Cadets with night game in Hünenberg
The U15 Cadets are taking advantage of the soccer-free evening and are playing a make-up game against the SG Unicorns/Eagles in Hünenberg this Thursday evening. The game of the first-placed Challengers against the Central Swiss team was canceled last Saturday due to rain. The game starts at 7 p.m. in Hünenberg Rony.
Continue Reading » Cadets with night game in HünenbergSign up now for softball course in summer holidays!
Are you between 14 and 18 years old and want to learn playing softball during your holidays? Then secure your spot in our holiday sofball course on Klopstockwiese in Zürich/Engequartier now.
Softball is similar to baseball. Discover the American sport! Learn to hit, catch, and throw with the 2021 Swiss champions, the Zürich Challengers.
Date: August 13th
Time: 15:00 – 17:30
Price: CHF 10 (includes snack)
Bring: sports clothes, water bottle and lots of energy!
For signing up or more information, please contact [email protected]