As on Friday the Challengers lost to their cross-town rivals Zurich Barracudas on Saturday. The Challengers are still too patchy, especially on the offensive they are not yet running on all cylinders.
While Friday’s game was tight almost halfway, the Barracudas put up five runs in Saturday’s game in the second inning. It wasn’t until the fifth inning that the Challengers found their way onto the scoreboard. Simon Steffen brought home Nick Siemers with an RBI-single. Hope germinated in the sixth frame. After oldie Thomas Landis came on base with a single and Ryan Byrne with a bunt single, the pressure on the Barracudas defense increased. Indeed, Landis scored on a wild pitch and with the bases loaded, Nick Siemers managed a walk before Carlos Nepomuceno was hit by a pitch, allowing the Challengers to reduce the gap to 4-5.
But instead of the momentum tipping over to the side of the home team, the whole thing turned out to be a flash in the pan. The Barracudas responded immediately with two runs and added three more runs in the ninth inning to finally win again by a solid 10-4.
Author: Serge Künzler
Another loss for the Challengers
Barracudas grab first derby of the season
In the first city derby of the season the Zurich Barracudas clearly prevailed 11-3 on Friday evening. They decide what has been a tight game over five frames with six runs in the sixth inning.
The game was dominated by the defense of both teams for a long time. The score was only 1-1 after five innings. An RBI-single from James Sanders that brought home Carlos Nepomuceno evened the visitors’ early lead in the second inning. But the Barracudas took fire in the sixth inning, which should be decisive. Challengers starter Simon Steffen showed another strong performance and allowed three hits only with one walk and three strikeouts. But in the sixth inning, after two walks and a hit-by-pitch, he was faced with loaded bases. And the Barracudas resolutely took advantage of the opportunity. With four hits and a sac bunt they managed to go ahead 7-1, a deficit the Challengers were unable to recover. Although they were also able to load the bases in the sixth frame, a walk by Säntis Zeller, which brought home Patrick Maier, was the only countable result.
In the end, the Barracudas clearly prevailed 11-3 in a good and exciting game. In contrast to the Challengers, they converted their scoring opportunities far better. The home team stranded no fewer than 15 baserunners while scoring just three runs. Challenger’s coach Thomas Burger made several changes at the end of the game, so that Noam Blickenstorfer and Jack Siemers made their NLA debut. The second game of the two-game series will take place on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
Nighgames on Friday and Saturday Night
If the sky doesn’t open its floodgates again, two NLA night games between the Zurich Barracudas and the Zurich Challengers will take place on Friday and Saturday evening in the Heerenschürli ballpark. The first two Zurich local derbies of the season take place as a two-game series. In the head-to-head since 1994 the two cross-town rivals are tied with 65-65 wins each. Last season, however, the Challengers won all seven games in the preliminary round and in the playoff semifinals. A series that the Barracudas would surely love to end. On Friday the game will be played at 6.30 p.m., on Saturday the first pitch is at 6 p.m.
On Sunday, May 21st, the Challengers Softball-Team will face the Lucerne Eagles at the Klopstockwiese in Zurich. After two victories in Bern against the Cardinals, the Challengers will try to set the course for the top 4 in a duel with a competitor for the playoff spots. Games begin at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The 1st League-Team is also in action on Sunday. For the third team of the Challengers it will be a game day in Eastern Switzerland. In Wittenbach, St. Gallen, they first meet the SG Pirates/Lions before they face the SG Romanshorn-Wittenbach/Wil Devils. The Games start at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
NLB-Nightgame canceled
The NLB night game scheduled for Tuesday evening between the Zurich Barracudas Academy and the Challengers had to be canceled due to the rain and the unplayable field.
The game was originally scheduled for April 2nd as a season opener and has now had to be canceled and rescheduled for the second time.
Two W’s for the Cadets
The U15 Cadets win twice against the SG Pirates on Sunday, but they also have to deal with the nasty conditions that prevent a nice game.
The Challengers started promising. After a so-called three-up, three-down inning, they got four runs in the first inning after hits by Jordi Bucher, Noam Müller, Fabrizio Bucher and Ben Dickow. The guests from Eastern Switzerland needed a while to find their way into the game, but they also punched in in the third round and reduced the lead to 2-5. They immediately got two quick outs on defense, but after walks by Yannik Hobi and Niilo Benz, Fabrice Cadalbert with an RBI single and Niilo Benz, who scored on an error made sure that the difference was five runs again. With five more runs in the fourth inning the C’s made it 12-2 in the end.
Noam Müller and Fabrice Cadalbert each had two hits, while Jasper Freigang was credited with the win by giving up just two runs and three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. However, the success was marred by the injury of Yannik Hobi, who unfortunately injured his wrist. The guests also suffered an injury. We wish both players a fast recovery.
In game two the Challengers had the better start into the game again. Already in the first inning they checked out with five runs and after two runs by the Pirates the Challengers added five more runs with three doubles in the second frame. Jordi Bucher and Jimmy Siemers scored on a 2-run double from Jasper Freigang, Fabrizio Bucher hit an RBI-double and Philipp Louis brought home Ben Dickow for a 10-2 lead. While the Challengers then eased off a bit, Wil speeded up. With five runs in the third and two more runs in the fourth, they reduced the deficit to 10-14. But the Challengers weren’t done yet. Aaron Schütz and Ilai Blickenstorfer scored the first two of a total of six runs in the last inning, meaning that game two was also a 20-11 win for Zurich.
Challengers win twice with mercy-rule
The Challengers celebrate two victories against the Bern Cardinals on Saturday. From the fifth inning of game one the C’s are dominant and win twice with the Mercy Rule.
Leonel Sosa Marte opened the score with an RBI triple in the first inning. Patrick Maier found the right answer to the visitors’ equalizer with an RBI single, Ryan Byrne added a sac fly and James Sanders another RBI single to make it 4-1. Once again, the Cardinals came close with some help from the Challengers defense, but from Marco Limacher’s RBI single in the fifth inning the game went in one direction only. With eight runs in the seventh inning the Challengers selt the deal.
Pitcher Simon Steffen had a strong performance, delivering a complete game and giving up three hits and four runs only – two earned – without a walk, but with eight strikeouts. Ryan Byrne, Nick Siemers and Marco Limacher each had three hits of a total of 16 dekivered by the Challengers.
The Cardinals got two runs in the second game in the first inning, but the hope of taking home a W was over pretty quickly. The Challengers offense picked up where it left off in game one. With seven hits they produced six runs in the bottom of the first and from then on there was never any doubt about the outcome of the game. Again the Challengers won early with 13-3. Nick Siemers had two hits and three RBIs, and Leonel Sosa Marte and Patrik Maier also had two hits.
Challengers host Cardinals on Saturday
On Saturday, the Challengers will meet the Cardinals at the Heerenschürli ballpark. In one of the classics in Swiss baseball, the challengers are the favorites this time. In the past this was not always the case. Although the Challengers lead in the head-to-head since 1995 with 70-62 victories. But the Cardinals often proved to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially in the playoffs, most recently in 2020. The game starts at 11 am and 2 pm.
Sunday is all about the juniors. The U15 Cadets will play the SG Pirates in Rümlang. The encounters with the the team from Wil start at 11.00 am and 1.30 pm in Rümlang Rümelbach.
Meanwhile, the U12 Juveniles travel to Central Switzerland, where they meet the SG Eagles/Unicorns and the Therwil Flyers. The games start at 10 am and 12.30 pm in Lucerne-Reussbühl Hinterruopigen.
Home wins for the Juveniles
The U12 Juveniles win their home opener against the SG Eagles/Unicorns. Both teams played strong and made several spectacular plays.
The Challengers got off to an ideal start. They scored the maximum of five runs in the first inning, which visibly calmed the nerves of the young team, which was peppered with a few rookies. The home team was able to consistently score runs in the offense, while pitcher Maor Müller and his defense carried the lead over the distance. In the end the Challengers celebrated their first win of the season with a score of 12-6.
In the second game of the day the home team got off to a successful start too and again scored five runs in the first frame. Len Blickenstorfer provided the highlight with a 2-run in-the-park home run in the second inning. But both teams also showed nice plays on defense, which repeatedly caused applause from the crowd. The Eagles/Unicorns defended themselves as best as they could, but ultimately had to admit a 6-17 defeat.
Homegame for the Juveniles on Sunday
The youngest Challengers will play their home opener on Sunday, May 7. The U12-Juveniles will host the SG Eagles/Unicorns at the Klopstockwiese in Zurich-Enge. The games will start at 11 a.m. and 1.30 p.m.
Continue Reading » Homegame for the Juveniles on Sunday1st League-Team starts with Split
The 1st league team has a successful start into the 2023 season. In a great 1st League game they lose to the Zürich Barracudas 4-5, but game 2 against the SG Pirates/Lions goes to the Challengers with a 15-10 score.
The Challengers, who started with no fewer than six U20 players, fought a close neck-and-neck race with their cross-town rivals. But it was the oldie in the team, Juan Francisco Robles, who scored the first Challengers run in the first inning. But the young guard followed and so Noam Blickenstorfer, who made his debut at the catcher’s position, and Nick Siemers turned the game for 3-2 Challengers lead. Then it went the Barracudas way again, who took a 4-3 lead with one run in the fourth and fifth innings each. Ilai Blickenstorfer managed to equalize again in the sixth frame after an RBI-single from Nicola Ernst. However, the Challengers were unable to answer the Barracudas fifth run in the last inning. After a double and a stolen base, Nick Siemers got to third base, but the last two Challengers batters struck out. Nick Siemers confirmed his good shape with three hits after hitting his first NLA home run the day before while he was a guest player with the Bern Cardinals. Juan Francisco Robles pitched a complete game, allowing five runs, three earned, eight hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.
In Game 2 against the SG Pirates/Lions, the Challengers quickly made things clear. Reinforced with a few prospects from the Barracudas, the Zurich team managed eleven runs in the first two innings. While Ben Dickow opened the score with an RBI-single, Niilo Benz provided the highlight from the Challenger’s perspective with a 2-run double, his first hit playing with the seniors. The Pirates/Lions came up a bit towards the end of the game, but the Challengers finally brought home the 15-10 victory.