The Challengers advance to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Cup as group winners with home field advantage. The Zurich team did not let themselves down in the third group game against an NLB team either. They beat the Lucerne Eagles comfortably 11-4.
After victories against the second team of the Barracudas and the second team of the Therwil Flyers, the last opponent in the preliminary round were the Lucerne Eagles. The Challengers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The decision was made in the fourth frame. Fabrizio Bucher increased the lead to 4-0 with a 2-run double, Thomas Burger followed with an RBI single, Tobias Siegrist followed with an RBI to make it 6-0, before Leonel Sosa Marte provided the highlight of the day with a 3-run home run. The guests briefly lost concentration, which the Eagles used to score four unearned runs, but the Zurich team and pitcher Stefan Haltmeier did not let anything go wrong. In eight innings he gave up only four unearned runs and six hits and recorded eleven strikeouts.
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Challengers advance to Swiss Cup quarterfinals
1st League day tournament at the Heerenschürli
On Saturday a day tournament of the 1st league championship is scheduled at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The Challengers have been the unluckiest team so far this season. They have only been able to play one night game in the first three and a half months of the 2024 season. All other games had to be canceled due to rain. On Saturday now games are planned against the Wittenbach-Pirates team and against the fourth team of the Zurich Barracudas. The games start at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
There will be a top battle in softball. In a repeat of the final of the last three years the Zurich Challengers will face the Wittenbach Panthers on Sunday. Both teams managed to win one game each, as they faced each other on opening day. The Challengers however are riding a four game losing streak after falling short four times against their local rivals Zürich Barracudas. The games start at 11 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. in Wittenbach Sonnenrain.
Meanwhil the NLA-Team will play another make-up game in the Swiss Cup against the Luzern Eagles on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Reussbühl. With a win the Challengers can secure first place in the preliminary round of the group and could play against one of the four group runners-up in the quarterfinals.
Win in Swiss Cup – task fulfilled
The NLA-Team had to travel to Therwil on Sunday. There, however, the Challengers met the record champions’ second team. The game was correspondingly one-sided with the Zurich team winning 20-0 after seven innings.
For the Challengers it was the second clear success in the cup competition. Since they missed out on qualifying for the finals in the championship and thus failing to defend their title, the Swiss Cup remains the Challengers’ last goal of the season. The Zurich team approached the game against their lower-class opponents with appropriate seriousness. Not only the result, but also the number of hits with 16-5 and the number of baserunners with 31-7 spoke for themselves. The guests took a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Marcus Mäder and Jason Wüger helped to organize the early lead with RBI doubles. And the Zurich team continued to build on this until the match ended after seven innings due to the mercy rule.
Marcus Mäder led the offense with four hits, including three doubles, five RBI and three runs, but Regis Reinhard, Leonel Sosa Marie and Carsten Zuber also delivered three hits each, while Jason Wüger contributed four RBI. Stefan Haltmeier gave up five hits and two walks in six innings with eight strikeouts.
Swiss Cup make-up games
The newly designed Swiss Cup competition has not been off to a good start. Two of the three scheduled game days were canceled due to rain. A number of games will now be played next weekend. The NLB-Team will be in action on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. in Embrach. The Challengers’ second team will face the Zurich Barracudas Academy.
On Sunday afternoon the Challengers NLA-Team will play against the Therwil Flyers’ second team at 2 p.m. at the Therwiler Känelmatt.
Challengers cannot defend title
The NLA-Team cannot defend its title from the previous year. The Challengers lose 7-14 to the Flyers away from home. At the same time the Zurich Barracudas win both of their games against the Wil Pirates. This means that the Challengers can only catch up with the top duo in terms of victories, but has a negative record in direct comparison against both opponents.
The hope of a win in Basel only lasted a short time. In the first inning Leonel Sosa Marte put his team in the lead with a sac fly, which James Sanders increased with an RBI single. The home team, however, equalized in the second inning and took the lead for the first time in the third frame with 5-2. With a double and a triple the Flyers scored four more runs in the fourth inning and Sven Leemannn followed up with a grand slam in the sixth. Ultimately the Zurich team suffered a 7-14 loss.
Regis Reinhard had three hits and three RBI, Jason Wüger delivered three hits and Leonel Sosa Marte recorded three RBI for the Challengers. They still have three games to play against the Wil Pirates and as many games as possible in the Swiss Cup.
NLA-Team at Therwil, home games for the NLB-Team
The NLA-Team will face the Flyers in Therwil on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Challengers need a successful match against last year’s final opponent in the fight to reach the final again. In the two duels so far this season, both teams have won one game each.
The NLB-Team will play a home game on Sunday, July 14th at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The Challengers will host the Lucerne Eagles at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The two teams already faced each other in Lucerne almost a month ago, with the Central Swiss team winning twice.
Three games washed out again
The 2024 season is not looking good. Once again three games involving the Challengers had to be canceled due to the miserable weather. Just in time for the scheduled start of the game heavy thunderstorms have been expected for Zurich, which then also broke out over the city, so that the NLA game between the Challengers and the Wil Pirates was out of the question.
Already on Saturday afternoon Sunday’s softball doubleheader between the Luzern Eagles and the Challengers in Reussbühl was canceled due to the unplayable field.
NLA night game on Saturday
The NLA-Team will host the Wil Pirates for a night game at the Heerenschürli ballpark on Saturday evening. The Challengers urgently need a win in the fight for a place in the final. At the beginning of May, the first encounter of the season ended with a split. The game starts at 6 p.m.
The NLB-Team will play an away game against the Hünenberg Unicorns on Saturday. At the end of April the Unicorns won twice at the Heerenschürli. The Challengers will try to take revenge for the home defeats. The games start at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
On Sunday the Softball-Team will also travel to central Switzerland. The Challengers will meet the Luzern Eagles in Reussbühl Hinterruopigen at 11 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. The Challengers clearly won the first two games between the two teams in Zurich.
Challengers with exploit against Therwil
The Challengers impressed in Game 1 with a strong offensive performance and defeated the leader in the standings Therwil Flyers 15-4. They also held up well in Game 2, but a costly error and a lack of luck led to a 0-3 loss.
In the fight to qualify for the finals the Zurich team urgently needed an exploit. And it started well. Leadoff batter Ryan Byrne showed the way with a home run over the center field fence. Shortly afterwards they increased their lead to 2-0. The Flyers equalized in the second inning with a 2-run homer by Ferlon Gijsbertha to make it 2-2, but this score only lasted for a short time. The Challengers took the lead again by two runs in the third inning and in the fourth inning Geoffrey Mäder made it 7-2 with a 3-run home run after singles by Noah Nussbaum and Ryan Byrne. In the end the guests totaled 25 hits and celebrated a 15-4 victory.
Man of the match was Geoffrey Mäder with four hits, including two home runs, and six RBI. Ryan Byrne and Noah Nussbaum each had five hits, while Leonel Sosa Marte and Regis Reinhard contributed three hits each to the win.
The Challengers would have liked to have saved their offensive power for the second game. Although they were once again ahead in terms of hits with 6-4, they were unable to convert their scoring opportunities into runs this time. Three baserunners were unluckily out and a fatal error in the third inning, which cost two runs, was decisive for the 0-3 defeat. James Sanders led the offense with three hits, while Ryan Byrne only gave up one earned run and four hits in six innings, with five walks and three strikeouts.
1st League Nightgame on Saturday
On Saturday night there will be a night game between the first league teams of the Zürich Challengers and the Zurich Eighters at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The two city rivals are facing each other for the second time this season. The game starts at 6 p.m.
The other Challengers teams that will be in action next weekend will have to play away games. The NLA-Team has to travel to Therwil on Sunday for the reprise of last year’s final. The doubleheader starts at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the Therwiler Känelmatt.
The Softball-Team has the shortest journey. The Challengers women meet the Zurich Barracudas in Rümlang. The games in Rümlang Rümelbach start on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The two teams will meet again on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Klopstockwiese in Zurich to complete the season series.
The U12 Juveniles will play against the SG Luzern Eagles/Hünenberg Unicorns on Sunday as well. The games take place at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on the Hinterruopigen in Reussbühl.