The U15-Cadets twice squandered a clear lead, but at least managed to avoid a defeat in Game 1 with a walk-off win. So the best-of-three semi-final series against the Therwil Flyers is tied at 1-1 and goes to the decider.
The eagerly awaited duel between the two arch rivals went back and forth. The lead changed several times already in Game 1. Here, the Challengers still came out on top. While the Flyers had scored the first run of the series in the first inning, Yannik Hobi gave the Zurich team their first lead with a 2-run single. They even extended their lead to 4-1. The Basel team made up the deficit by the fourth inning. They equalized in a particularly dramatic way with a triple steal with the bases loaded. Noam Müller, however, put his team back in the lead with an RBI single. But the Flyers turned the game around again in their last inning with four runs to make it 8-5. The Challengers now had one last chance to avert the impending defeat. After a walk by Ben Dickow and a hit-by-pitch by Tyler Smith, Yannik Hobi made it 6-8 with an RBI single. And Ilai Blickenstorfer did manage to tie the game again with a 2-run single. But things got even better for the Zurich team. Noam Müller’s walk-off single put the finishing touches to this dramatic game.
The Challengers also got off to a good start in Game 2. Fabrizio Bucher put the Zurich team on the scoreboard with an RBI single. And after two more runs on wild pitches with runners on third base, Fabrice Cadalbert increased the lead to 4-0 with another RBI single. After two runs by the Flyers, Yannik Hobi made it 5-2 with an RBI double in the third inning, but the Leimental team scored five runs in the second half of the third inning and took the lead. Things weren’t going well for the Challengers pitchers. In the third and fourth innings they allowed their opponents no fewer than 14 walks or hit-by-pitches, which the Flyers combined with seven hits to score 16 runs. This burden was too heavy. The Zurich team did manage to score eight more runs, including a 3-run homer from Ben Dickow, but they couldn’t manage more than 14-18.
The deciding game for a place in the final against the Geneva Dragons will take place next Saturday at 11 a.m. on the Therwiler Känelmatt.
U15-Cadets Playoff Semifinals Zurich Challengers vs. Therwil Flyers: Score 1-1 (best-of-three)
