The ladies’ title hopes came to an end in the semifinal on Saturday, September 20 after losing twice in tie break 7-8 and 5-6 against the defending champions Therwil Flyers at Therwil. In Game 1 the Challengers erased three deficits to send the game into extra innings with a 6-6 tie. In the eight inning the Challengers managed to load the bases with 0 outs. And the C’s scored the go-ahead run, as Karin Mittelstädt drove in Andrea Wirth with a RBI-single. But the Flyers escaped the threat when Alexia Zingg lined into a double play to pitcher Sophie Zihlmann, who threw to first to end the inning. In the bottom half of the inning the Flyers tied the game on Emily McNamara’s RBI-double, before Adeline Glauser drove in the winning run with a two-out RBI-single.
The C’s ended up with the loss even though they outhit the Flyers 12-9. Flavia Von Meiss and Karin Mittelstädt collected three hits apiece, while Leandra Simitovic had two RBI’s. Simitovic allowed eight runs – six earned – and nine hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
The C’s bats remained on fire, as they opened Game two with three consecutive singles to make it 2-0 in the first inning. But the defense committed two costly errors, enabling the Flyers to tie the game in the second inning. The C’s took the lead again, as they scored a run in the third and fourth innings each. Again the Flyers tied the game with two runs in the fifth to make it 4-4. But the C’s made it 5-4, as Simone Zurschmitten drove in Karin Mittelstädt with a RBI-single in the sixth. In the seventh inning the C’s were one strike away from the victory, as a wild pitch from Karen Heimgartner enabled the Flyers to score the tying run. And as in Game 1 the Flyers had the better end in the tie break, as they scored the winning run on another wild pitch to end the Challengers’ season.
The Flyers will face the Reussbühl Eagles, who beat the first placed Wil Devils in Game 3 of their semifinal series, in the finals. The Challengers finish the season in fourth place and will miss the European Cup for the first time since 2004.
