Challengers' offense struggles in defeat against Barracudas

For it's one, two, but yet no third out and the Barracudas will score again...

	Miscommunication between Thomas Burger and Orlando Balbuena.

The Challengers were bitterly reminded of the game's most basic rules as they lost the first game of this Sunday's double-header against their cross-town rivals.

Twice in the game they rallied with two outs, scoring a total eight of their eleven runs.

The Challengers and pitcher Oliver Labhart didn’t take a good start. After two batters - a single and a strikeout - Labhart overthrew first base and allowed lead-off Conde to open the score.

And also in the following two innings the Challengers’ defense couln’t keep a clean vest as the Barracudas managed to score two more runs, the second of which in a rather curious manner: Lombriser stole second after a base hit and advanced right to third, when shortstop Thomas Burger couldn’t sufficiently block the catcher’s throw. The ball was picked up by second baseman Orlando Balbuena and thrown behind the runner, hit Lombrisers back not before he had reached the base and jumped out of play, thus rewarding the Barracudas’ center fielder home plate.

In its offensive innings, the home team tried to put things straight, but struggled with the rather slow pitching of Cyril Meier.

Yet, after Balbuena stole home in the 2nd, drove in Chris Hardy in the 3rd and Labhart scored on an error by shortstop Spring, the Challengers evened the score at 3.

	Thomas Blank was the only Challenger with more than one hit.

The next inning started off well for the home squad as Pirc grounded out and Isik lined out, both to Burger.

But just as the game seemed to be on the edge and the momentum seemed to turn over, the Barracudas came up with two base hits around a walk and scored again.

And when Balbuena and Burger miscommunicated on a pop fly just behind second base, things went back to odd again for the Challengers.

Although only three runs scored in that inning and the ballgame still was a close one, it seemed that the Challengers weren’t aware of it and started to give up.

They lost even more effeciency at the plate: Meier only faced 14 more batters in the remaining four innings and gave up only two more hits, a ground-rule double to Balbuena and an RBI-single to Thomas Blank, the only Challenger with multiple hits.

The Barracudas took full advantage of the weak mood of their opponents and started another two-out-rally in the sixth to increase their score to the final total of 11 runs.