One big inning gives Cards 5-2 win

The Challengers and Bern Cardinals scored in only three innings in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader, giving Bern a close 5-2 win.

The Cardinals broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth inning by scoring three times for the win.

Before that, John Baum and rookie Thomas Burger each pitched three superb innings.

The Cards took the lead in the bottom of the first inning on a first-and-third double steal, successfully scoring Severin Fries with the go-ahead run, and on Raphael Hänzi's RBI-single for a 2-0 lead.

The Challengers then loaded the bases off Baum in the top of the third on two walks and a hit-by-pitch before Chris Palatinus' fielder's choice scored both Patrick Zöllig and Tobias Siegrist.

After that, Fries took over on the mound for the Cardinals, pitching the remaining four innings.

His teammates gave him a cushion to work with in the bottom of the fourth. The first three batters reached on two walks and a single.

Catcher Siegrist then let a pitch go by for a passed ball, scoring the go-ahead run for the Cardinals.

A strikeout later, first baseman Harry Bregy's miscue scored the Cardinals' fourth run, and another successful double steal brought home the fifth run for the Cardinals.

Fries was pretty effective in his stint on the mound as he sent the first nine batters he faced straight back to the dugout.

Oliver Labhart and Siegrist both managed to reach in the top of the seventh on a base-on-balls and a single, respectively, but Zeller's 6-4 fielder's choice ended the game.

Game notes
The Challengers managed to get only three hits off Baum and Fries. ...Burger' loss was his first in the NLA. ...Nick Lehmann struck out three times for only the second time in his NLA career. His only other three-whiff game was on May 10, 1997. ...Zöllig also went down three times on strikes. It was his fourth such game in his NLA-career.