The traditional Challengers juniors indoor tournament in the ETH Hönggerberg sports hall in Zurich will take place this winter on Sunday, February 4th.
Before that the U12 Juveniles and U15 Cadets of the Challengers will be in action at the indoor tournaments in Wil and Bern. The tournament in eastern Switzerland will take place on Saturday, December 9th, the one in the federal city on January 20th, 2024.
Posts in the Juveniles category:
Juniors indoor tournament on February 4th
Juveniles play for fifth place
The U12-Juveniles get a win against the SG Ravens/Frogs in the Wild Card tournament of the three second-placed teams, but are defeated by the Rümlang Kobras beforehand. While the Kobras buy the last ticket for the finals, the Challengers will play against the Ravens/Frogs for fifth place next Saturday.
The Kobras made it clear early in the game that they were aiming for the Final Four tournament. The young Challengers team fought back as best they could, but ultimately had too little horsepower to pose a serious threat to the stronger Kobras. The Zürcher Unterländer finally won clearly with 11-4.
Since the Kobras defeated the SG Ravens/Frogs 8-4 in the second game of the day, it was clear even before the last game between the Solothurn-Baselland team and the Challengers that the Final Four tournament was out of reach for both. However, the Zurich team showed another strong performance in the offensive. Despite struggling on defense and pitching, they somehow managed to hold off the fresh-playing Ravens/Frogs and won the game 16-9.
This means that the Challengers are missing out the medals in this age group for the first time since 2015, but in view of the many new players they can be very satisfied with reaching the games for fifth place.
NLA faces Wil, U12 plays Wild Card Tournament
A curiosity awaits the NLA-Team next Sunday. The Challengers meet the Wil Pirates three times. Before the actually planned double header on the Heerenschürli takes place, the last inning of a game that has been suspended in April due to rain has to be completed. The game was stoped in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and a 14-10 lead for the Challengers. There are still two outs to play. The trilogy begins at 10.45 a.m. at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
The NLB-Team travels to Lucerne on Saturday, where they will meet the Lucerne Eagles. In the first meeting of the season in Zurich, they suffered two painful defeats against the central Swiss. The games start at 11 am and 2 pm in Reussbühl Hinterruopigen.
The U15-Cadets are also in action on Saturday. After the two defeats last weekend, a reaction is to be expected. After the opening game against the SG Black Hawks, the C’s will play again against the Hünenberg Unicorns. The games will take place in Embrach PZ Hard and start at 10 am and 3 pm.
The Softball-Team also meets the Luzern Eagles on Sunday, June 11th. In the case of the women’s team, the first comparison this season went in favor of the Challengers. The games start at 11 am and 1.30 pm in Reussbühl Hinterruopigen.
The U12-Juveniles are in action on the Klopstockwiese on Sunday. As runners-up in the Central group, they are contesting the wild card tournament for fourth place at the Final Four tournament on June 18 in Hünenberg. The Challengers Juniors play at 10 am and 3 pm.
No wins for the Juveniles
The U12-Juveniles traveled to Lucerne on Pentecost Saturday for a make-up day tournament that fell victim to the rain in spring. Opponents were the Lucerne Eagles and Therwil Flyers. The young Challengers team had its problems with both opponents. While it was a relatively tight 5-11 against the hosts Lucerne Eagles, they suffered a 4-16 defeat against the Therwil Flyers in the second game of the day.
Continue Reading » No wins for the JuvenilesJuveniles travel to Lucerne
The U12 Juveniles will play a make-up game in Lucerne on Saturday, May 27th. The games against the Lucerne Eagles and Therwil Flyers fell victim to the weather conditions in this rainy spring. The games will take place at 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in Reussbühl Hinterruopigen.
Continue Reading » Juveniles travel to LucerneChallengers 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 SundayJuveniles washed out in Therwil
The U12 Juveniles will remember the start of the 2023 season in Therwil for a while. But not for sporting reasons. The severely decimated Challengers team not only had to contend with a good opponent but also with the weather. Game 1 was played in partly torrential rain, which made things even more difficult for the pitchers Maor Müller and Roy Gonzalez. The Challengers not only got wet from above, but also had to bow to the Therwil Flyers clearly with 3-12. The second game could not be played because of an unplayable field.
The Challengers now have some time until the next game day to work on their technique in practice. On May 7th they will host the SG Eagles/Unicorns at the Klopstockwiese.
U12-Juveniles finish in 3rd place at Therwil
The youngest Challengers’ team, the U12-Juveniles, played its first indoor tournament of 2017 on Sunday, January 22 at Therwil. As several key players of the 2016 championship team moved up to the U15 squad, the C’s lined up with a different roster than last year. Especially in the first games the automatisms didn’t work that well, but the Challengers improved their level of play in the course of the tournament. Against the Neuenburg Atomics, who won the tournament, the C’s were even leading 4-2. At the end the Challengers finished the tournament in 3rd place.
Results U12 Indoor Tournament Therwil
SG TruckStar/Flyers vs. Challengers 8-8
Therwil Flyers vs. Challengers 3-8
Challengers vs. Neuenburg Atomics 4-6
Challengers vs. Rümlang Kobras 8-10