Lions win Zurich derby 12-9

The Challengers' NLB-team faced off against the Zürich Lions on Sunday, and lost 12-9 in a game that could have gone either side.

	Harry Bregy Infielder, Pitcher Harry Bregy
	1999 SEASON STATISTICS AB R H RBI HR AVG 11 4 4 2 0 .364 IP W L SV SO ERA 8.2 1 0 0 9 4.15

The Challengers collected 15 hits compared to the Lions' 11, but also committed nine costly errors, five alone by catcher Tobias Siegrist (the Lions made four errors).

The Lions jumped on starter Harry Bregy, and quickly loaded the bases with no outs. One run scored on an error by left fielder Alexis Misailidis, but Bregy then managed to retire the side on a groundout back to the mound and two consecutive strikeouts.

The Challengers pushed three runs across the plate in their bottom half of the inning to take a 3-1 lead after the first inning.

After a scoreless third inning, the Lions scored three times in the top of the fourth to tie the game and Schmid followed with a two-run double with two outs to put them ahead 6-4.

But the Challengers' Nick Lehmann did the same and laid down a two-run double with two outs to lock the game at 6-6 after five innings.

By then, both starters were already replaced. For the Lions, one former Challenger (Giorgio Szentgyörgyi) was replaced by another (Enrico Zingg), and for the Challengers themselves, Oliver Labhart came in for Bregy.

Both teams then scored two runs apiece through the sixth inning for a score of 8-8 after six innings. The Lions added one run in the seventh and two more in the eighth inning on Siegrist's three throwing errors for a 11-8 lead, and the Challengers weren't able to respond to that and scored their last run of the game in the bottom of the eighth.

Cameron Minns had a game- and season-high three hits in six at-bats.

Labhart allowed four runs in 4 1-3 innnings of relief, but none of them was earned.

The Lions, coached by former Challenger Wayne Testino, are off to their best start in the last couple of years with a 5-0 record, while the Challengers have fallen to 2-3, one of their worst starts in the past.