After winning the award for Best Batter twice, Isabelle Tan has now also won the award as MVP of the Softball-Team for the first time. In the 2024 season she totaled a batting average of .271, 13 hits, 2 home runs, 24 runs, 21 RBI and a fielding percentage of .972. The title for the Best Batter went to Carmen Lutz-Demetz. She achieved a batting average of .455, 25 hits, 1 home run and 21 RBI. Leandra Simitovic was voted Best Pitcher of the Softball-Team for the tenth time already. She posted an ERA of 4.77 with 18 strikeouts and 3 wins. Simone Zurschmitten was chosen as Best Fielder with a fielding percentage of .929 in 56 chances. The MIP award went to Anouchka Michel. She achieved 8 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched, had a fielding percentage of 1.000 and made her debut with the U22 Softball national team. Marianne Aellen was named Rookie of the Year. She had a batting average of .125 and an on-base percentage of .364 and recorded 5 RBI.

The season is over for the Softball-Team. The Challengers had no chance in the semifinals against their cantonal rivals Zurich Barracudas. The long list of names on the DL weighed too heavily.
While the Challengers had won the semifinals against the Barracudas in the past three years – albeit narrowly – this time they were the clear underdogs. All four duels in the qualification went to the Barracudas, while the Challengers had to mobilize the last squad. The names on the DL alone would have made for a very competitive team. Nevertheless the guests got off to a good start in the first game of the best-of-three series. Isabelle Tan scored the first run of the game after a walk and two errors. But the Barracudas also had a solid start with two runs. While the Challengers were stopped on the bases in the following innings with a double play and a pick-off, the Barracudas managed to make the preliminary decision with two runs in the second and three runs in the third inning, making it 7-1. Two hits by Carmen Lutz-Demetz were the only offensive output for the Challengers. Although the Barracudas only recorded five hits and the errors remained at the same level with two versus three and walks with seven each, the Barracudas still won the statistically relatively close game clearly with 9-1. However, softball games can rarely be won with two hits only.
Only a miracle could have extended the Challengers’ season now. Alexandra McCutcheon took over as the pitcher for the Barracudas in Game 2. The American lived up to her advance praise, allowing only three hits, three unearned runs and two walks, while sending 13 opposing batters back to the dugout with strikeouts. On the other hand, the Barracudas put on a gala performance. They recorded 21 hits and 24 runs, which allowed them to qualify for the final for the first time since 2020. For the Challengers, on the other hand, a season ended in the semifinals for the first time in four years. Given the personnel problems however, more was hardly possible. Nevertheless there were also some bright spots for the Challengers. For example, there was the strong debut year of Marianne Aellen or the positive development of Anouchka Michel. And by next spring, one or the other injury will have healed.
Softball Playoff Semifinals Zurich Barracudas vs. Zurich Challengers: Score 2-0 (best-of-three)
Saturday, September 14, 12:00 p.m., Rümlang Rümelbach: Zurich Challengers vs. Zurich Barracudas 1-9
Saturday, September 14, 2:30 p.m., Rümlang Rümelbach: Zurich Challengers vs. Zurich Barracudas 3-24

After the European Cup tournaments and the European Softball Championship, which Switzerland finished in a good 14th place, the decisive phase of the domestic championship begins with the playoff semifinals. The title holder Wittenbach Panthers will face the Bern Cardinals, while the second semifinal series will be played by the Zurich Barracudas and the Zurich Challengers, as in the past three years.
The Challengers have fond memories of the last three playoff semifinal series against their local rivals. In the current season, however, the Barracudas have established themselves as the second force behind the reigning champion Wittenbach. The Barracudas have won all four games against the Challengers, the last two duels by a very clear margin. While the Challengers have been able to use their greater experience to decisively defeat the young Barracudas team in the playoffs in recent years, the Greens are likely to be the favorites this year. But perhaps the Challengers can once again exploit their full potential in the semifinals. Something they have barely managed to do this season. Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-three series will take place on Saturday in Rümlang.
Softball playoff semifinals Zurich Barracudas vs. Zurich Challengers: 0-0 (best-of-three)
Saturday, September 14, 12:00 p.m., Rümlang Rümelbach: Zurich Challengers vs. Zurich Barracudas
Saturday, September 14, 2:30 p.m., Rümlang Rümelbach: Zurich Challengers vs. Zurich Barracudas
Saturday, September 21, 12:00 p.m., Zurich Klopstockwiese (if necessary): Zurich Barracudas vs. Zurich Challengers
Season duel: Barracudas vs. Challengers 4-0 (11-9, 12-10, 16-3, 9-1)
Wins since 2011: Barracudas vs. Challengers 38-16
Last playoff series: Barracudas vs. Challengers 1-2 (semifinals 2023)
Number of titles: Barracudas 11 (last 2020), Challengers 2 (last 2021)

The Softball-Team stopped its losing streak of six losses in a row and won twice against the Bern Cardinals. In both games the Challengers managed to turn things around late after falling behind in the early innings.
The first game was a wild affair for long periods, with both sides making a lot of mistakes. The home team led 15-12 after three innings before the Challengers got their defensive actions a little more organized. The Zurich team kept the pressure on offense, took the lead 17-16 in the fourth inning also thanks to a 2-run home run by Isabelle Tan, and decided the game with eight runs in the sixth inning to make it 25-17.
Molly Mullens had three hits and four runs, Isabelle Tan collected three RBI and scored five runs, while Marianne Aellen contributed four RBI to the win.
The second game was very similar. The Bern Cardinals took the lead again, this time 9-5. But the Challengers answered again. With nine runs in the last two innings the Challengers managed to turn things around again to 16-9. The Challengers remain in third place in the standings with a record of 11-7.

The Softball-Team met the reigning champions Wittenbach Panthers on Sunday. They had no chance in either game and lost twice by 5-15 after four innings.
After four losses against their local rivals Zurich Barracudas, the title holders and league leaders Wittenbach Panthers were of course not the ideal opponent. But that was the way the schedule was supposed to be. The balance of power soon became clear. The Panthers were a bit better in all aspects of the game and since they didn’t let up, both games ended with a score of 15-5 after four innings. The Eastern Swiss team also had a clear lead in hits with 12-5 and 11-5 respectively, while the Challengers defense could not make the games any closer with a total of eight errors. Despite the two defeats, the Challengers remain in third place with a record of 9-7, but after six defeats in a row they urgently need a taste of success again.