After the clear defeat in the night game on Friday evening against the Zurich Barracudas, a reaction from the Challengers was required. The game was fairly even until the fourth inning. Then the Barracudas broke the game open and won again with a solid 13-5. The Challengers are a far away from their best level.
An RBI-double by Leonel Sosa Marte in the first inning at least got things off to a better start than on Friday. And in the third inning the Challengers found their way back to 2-2 in the form of James Sanders. The Barracudas took the lead again on a home run by Casey Rother, but the Challengers stayed within striking distance with an RBI groundout by Stefan Haltmeier. Until the fourth inning. With four hits and two errors from the champions, the Barracudas made it 9-3. The game was decided. Not only the result of 5-13, but also the number of hits with 7-14 and 6-3 errors show that the Challengers were inferior in all respects of the game.

The Challengers once again fell behind early in the local derby. Since the offensive remains pale this Friday evening, the early deficit weighs too heavily. The Barracudas left the field as winners with a score of 8-5.
This circumstance runs like a common thread through the title holder’s season so far. The Challengers regularly oversleep the start and are repeatedly confronted with a large deficit. The strong offense was able to correct the initial damage a few times, but against the Zurich Barracudas and their young pitchers they were not able to turn things around.
The game was marked by many errors. Of the 13 runs scored, only five were earned. The Barracudas took a 2-0 lead in the first frame thanks, among other things, to a costly error. The home team followed up with three more runs in the third inning. And the Challengers’ first run, an RBI-single by Säntis Zeller, was followed by two more runs in the fourth inning to make it 7-1. Now the guests jumped in as well. Robert Sedin cut the lead to 2-7 with an RBI-single before the Barracudas gave up three runs on two errors in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. However, Barracudas closer Alex Bruce shut the door in the final two innings. On Sunday afternoon the Challengers have the chance for a revenge. At 3 p.m. there will be another local derby in the Heerenschürli ballpark.

The Zurich Challengers also end the third gameday of the 2024 season with a split. In the first game of the day they erased a six-run deficit to finally celebrate a 11-7 win, but lost game 2 to the Wil Pirates 1-2.
The initial phase of the encounter with the Eastern Swiss was a complete failure. The Pirates took a 7-1 lead also thanks to five runs in the second inning. Ryan Byrne got the initial spark for the Challengers in the third inning. He opened the frame with a successful bunt single and scored on a mistake by the Wil defense. The Zurich team cut the deficit to 4-7 thanks to runs from Säntis Zeller and Regis Reinhard and an RBI single from Carsten Zuber in his first game with the Challengers. Now the home team was in the game as well. The Challengers finally took control in the sixth inning. Simon Steffen with an RBI single, Ryan Byrne with a 2-run double, Regis Reinhard with a sac fly and last but not least Robert Sedin with a home run over the wall in left field gave the C’s a 10-7 lead. The relief pitchers James Sanders and Regis Reinhard brought the game to the finish line. The latter delivered another RBI-single to make it 11-7.
Ryan Byrne led the offense with three hits and two RBI, Regis Reinhard had two hits and two RBI, while Robert Sedin, Carsten Zuber and Patrick Maier all contributed two hits in the win.
Game 2 developed into a pitcher’s duel between ex-Challengers pitcher Andrea Girasole for the Pirates and left-hander Ryan Byrne on the Challengers’ side. In the first inning, no one could have guessed that the Pirates’ two runs would be enough to win. The guests scored two runs with one hit as they made maximum use of the Zurich defense’s inaccuracies with stolen bases, a wild pitch, a passed ball and an error. Byrne did not allow any further damage to occur. He gave up just three hits in seven innings with two runs, one earned, two walks and an incredible 15 strikeouts. The fact that this wasn’t enough to win was due to the opponent. Girasole kept Zurich’s offense in check throughout the entire game. He went through seven innings throwing just 84 pitches, giving up eight hits and just one run, an RBI single from Patrick Maier in the second inning, with four strikeouts and no walks. So after six games and a record of 3-3, the Challengers remain at .500.

Normally, games between the arch-rivals Zurich Challengers and Therwil Flyers offer material for drama. However on Saturday there were two one-sided games with one win for both teams each.
The early start of the season and the recent difficult training conditions due to the weather did not contribute to an increase in quality. Compared to the final series of 2023 a lot of things were still fragmented and the error rate – in the area of so-called mental errors as well – was relatively high. Game one was decided in the fourth inning. The Flyers opened the gap to 9-1 with seven runs and the Baselbieters almost immediately countered a rally by the Challengers. In the end the guests won 16-6. The man of the game was undoubtedly Sven Leemann, who was largely responsible for the difference with four hits, four RBI and a three-run home run in the sixth inning. On the Zurich side, Regis Reinhard stood out with three hits, while Leonel Sosa Marte and Rob Sedin each delivered two hits.
As on the opening weekend against city rivals Zurich Barracudas the Challengers also managed an impressive response against the Flyers. Pitcher Ryan Byrne delivered a two-hitter, allowing just two runs – one earned – with four walks and six strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Challengers showed more patience at the plate than in other games. With thirteen walks and well-timed hits they produced 17 runs and finished the game after five innings with a 17-2 victory. Leonel Sosa Marte and Säntis Zeller each contributed two hits, Rob Sedin collected three RBI, while Ryan Byrne, Regis Reinhard and Tobias Siegrist scored three runs each.