Heimgartner inducted into Walsh Wall of Fame

Karen Heimgartner was inducted into the Wall of Fame of Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio on Saturday, September 27. Heimgartner pitched four years for the Cavaliers from 1997 till 2000 and led Walsh to their first NAIA World Series appearance in 2000. She set record marks on the Softball-Team’s all-time list for games pitched with 111, games started with 92, complete games with 79, innings pitched with 668, and leads the all-time list with a 1.41 Earned Run Average, 612 strikeouts, 67 wins and four No-Hitters. Heimgartner played her third season with the Challengers in 2008.
Walsh University Pitching RecordsWalsh University Wall of Fame

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Ladies’ season ends with two tie break losses

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.

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Cadets do it again: Back-to-back Champions

The Challengers U15 Cadets did it again! They won their second consecutive Swiss Championship after sweeping the Flyers/Frogs on Saturday, September 20 at Embrach. After winning Game 1 19-1, Game 2 was a close battle, as both teams exchanged zeros on the scoreboard in the first three innings, before the C’s managed to score to eventually win 9-0. The Challengers even achieved a perfect season after they remained unbeaten during the qualification round and throughout the playoffs. more >

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Cadets Finals at Embrach

The U15-Cadets will play their third consecutive finals, when they face the Flyers/Frogs in Game 1 and 2 of their best-of-three series on Saturday, September 20. The games will take place at Embrach PZ Hard on 11am and 2pm.
The Softball-Team will play Game 1 and 2 of its best-of-three semifinal series against the Therwil Flyers on Saturday, September 20 in what will be a rematch of the finals 2005, 2006 and 2007. The games start at 10am and 12.30pm at Therwil Känelmatt I. If necessary, the third game will take place on Saturday, September 27 at 1pm at the Klopstockwiese. The other semifinal series between the Wil Devils and the Reussbühl Eagles is tied up at 1-1 and will be decided on Saturday at Reussbühl.

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All games rained out

The most active people in Swiss Baseball and Softball this weekend were the groundkeepers and the persons in charge of the schedule, as all the Challengers’ games had to be cancelled due to rain and unplayable fields.
Game 1 and 2 of the softball semifinal series between the Challengers and the Therwil Flyers had to be postponed to Saturday, September 20 at Therwil.
The 1.Liga-Team will face the Geneva Dragons and the Romanshorn Submarines on Sunday, September 28 at Sissach.
On Saturday, September 13 Game 1 of the U15-Cadets best-of-three final series between the Challengers and the Flyers/Frogs and the Zurich Pilots’ deciding game for third place in the U12-Juveniles championship against the Wittenbach Vikings had to be postponed due to heavy rain as well. No make-up dates have been announced so far.

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More playoff action

The Softball-Team will open its best-of-three semifinal series against the Therwil Flyers in Therwil on Sunday, September 14, at 11am and 1.30pm in what will be a rematch of the finals 2005, 2006 and 2007. If necessary, the third game will take place on Saturday, September 20, at 1pm on the Klopstockwiese.
The U15-Cadets will play their third consecutive finals, when they face the Flyers/Frogs in Game 1 of their best-of-three series on Saturday, September 13 at Therwil Känelmatt I. The game starts at 10.30am.
The Zurich Pilots will travel to Wittenbach on Saturday, September 13 where they will face the Wittenbach Vikings. The U12-Juveniles team with players from the Embrach Rainbows, Zurich Lions and the Challengers will finish their very first season with the deciding game for third place. The game starts at 11am.
The 1.Liga-Team will face the Geneva Dragons and the Romanshorn Submarines on Sunday, September 14. The games will start at 12.30pm and 3pm at Romanshorn Weitenzelg.

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Cadets move into Finals

Die Challengers U15 Cadets qualifizierten sich zum dritten aufeinanderfolgenden Mal für den Playoff-Final. Der Titelhalter gewann seine best-of-three Halbfinalserie gegen die Berner Bears mit zwei Siegen am Samstag, 30. August auf der Klopstockwiese. Die Challengers setzten sich im ersten Spiel mit 8-2 durch, indem sie im dritten Inning sechs Runs scoren konnten. Die zweite Partie hingegen war früh entschieden. Den Challengers gelangen bereits im ersten Inning elf Runs zu einem ungefährdeten 12-3 Sieg. Korey Kovac und Gabe Staub pitchten zwei starke Spiele, währen Carl Varnauskas und Josiah Webster mit zwei Ground-Rule Doubles über den Right Field Zaun für die offensiven Highlights verantwortlich zeichneten. Im Final treffen die Challengers auf die Spielgemeinschaft der Flyers/Frogs, die sich in ihrem Halbfinal mit zwei Siegen souverän gegen die Rümlang Kobras durchgesetzt haben.

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Juniors in playoff action

The U15 Cadets open their best-of-three semifinal series against the Berner Bears on Saturday, August 30 at the Klopstockwiese. The reigning champions finished the Preeliminary Round with a perfect 10-0 record, while the Bears finished in fourth place with a 5-5 record. The games start at 11am and 1pm.
The Zurich Pilots will play Game 2 and if needed Game 3 of their best-of-three semifinal series against the Therwil Flyers on Sunday, August 31 at Therwil Känelmatt II. The U12-team with players from the Embrach Rainbows, the Zurich Lions and the Challengers lost the opener 3-10. Game 2 starts at 11am.
The NLA-Team (9-9) will travel to Therwil as well to face the Therwil Flyers (15-2) for their last games of the season on Sunday, August 31. The games start at 11am and 2pm.

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