Challengers score late in 15-6 win

It took the Challengers seven innings before they broke out, but then the runs came in bunches.

The Challengers sent 15 batters to the plate in the eighth inning against relievers Hideori and Takanobu Oshima, scoring nine times for a 15-6 win in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Therwil Flyers.

Yonimiler Martinez went 2-for-5 and collected three RBI's, pushing his team-leading total to 22, and Brian Hipps delivered a bases-clearing pinch-hit single that started the rally.

Tobias Siegrist matched Stefan Koller for seven innings, allowing six runs - two of them unearned - on nine hits and three walks while also striking out five, and reliever Chris Palatinus picked up his second win of the season by tossing two hitless shutout innings.

The Flyers broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth as Reto Siegel reached on an error by left fielder Patrick Maier, advanced on Ianis Boutelop's fly out to center, and scored on a passed ball by Palatinus. Daniel Eichenberger later scored on Adrian Kaufmann's RBI-single.

But the Challengers retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning on Tom Huston's RBI-double, and RBI-singles by Maier and Ueli von Burg.

But the Flyers responded with three runs on their own as Seppi Zwyer walked, Siegel tripled, Bouteloup singled and Eichenberger doubled for a 5-3 lead.

Another triple by Takanobu Oshima, followed by Michel LaTorre's RBI-single extended the Flyers' lead to 6-3 in the seventh inning.

The Challengers again came back on Siegrist's two-run single and Yonimiler Martinez' RBI-single to tie the game at 6-6.

Palatinus took over on the hill for Siegrist and quickly retired Siegel and Bouteloup on two fly outs. Eichenberger reached on four balls, but was quickly erased as Koller hit into an inning-ending 4-6 fielder's choice.

The Challengers then feasted on Hideori Oshima's pitches, getting four singles, three walks and a hit-by-pitch from their next nine batters. Oshima was replaced by Takanobu Hideori, who quickly issued two walks and threw a wild pitch, pushing the score to 13-6.

With two outs, second baseman Bouteloup booted a routine grounder, enabling two more runners to cross the plate.

In the top of the ninth, Palatinus hit the first batter with a pitch, but quickly erased him on yet another 4-6 fielder's choice, and ending the game with a ground out and a fly out to right.

Game notes
The 15 runs scored were the most this season by the Challengers. ...Siegrist is still winless in three career starts against the Flyers.