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Softball-Team adds another two wins

Serge KünzlerLeave a comment

The Softball-Team won twice on Saturday against the Bern Cardinals. The Challengers made up the difference in the third inning both times. They are now riding a seven game winning streak.
The guests from Bern made a bold appearance on Zurich’s Klopstockwiese, as the Cardinals kept getting nice hits in the gaps of the Zurich defense. However the Challengers were also in a good mood. The C’s had to rely on a number of former regulars due to a long list of injuries, but they fit seamlessly into the collective. The first game of the day was evenly matched until the third inning before the Challengers called it a difference. With six hits and three errors by the Cardinals the home team scored ten runs and turned a two-run deficit into a 16-8 lead and ultimately won 18-11.
Leandra Simitovic got her first win of the season. She gave up seven runs, five of them earned, seven hits and two walks in five innings with five strikeouts. Meanwhile, Carmen Lutz-Demetz led the offense with two doubles and two RBI, Leandra Simitovic and Tamara Ammeter each contributed two hits, while Lara Müller scored three runs and rookie Mrinalika Singh Dev had her first hit for the Challengers.
In Game 2, the Challengers also found themselves behind by a score of 6-8 in the third inning. This time they scored eight runs to make it 14-8 and in the fourth inning they sent the deal with another four runs to make it 18-8. Mia Matas shone with three hits, Tamara Ammeter provided four RBI, Carmen Lutz-Demetz and Anna Zgraggen each scored four runs and Lara Müller scored three again. In two weeks the Challengers will be hosting the Sissach Frogs at the Klopstockwiese.

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Two hard fought wins for the Cadets

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The U15-Cadets met the SG Eagles/Unicorns on Saturday. The Central Swiss team proved to be a stubborn opponent, but the Challengers found a way to win both games. In the end the slightly greater depth in pitching was decisive.
It wasn’t the first time the Zurich team got off to a cold start this season. When the SG Eagles/Unicorns took a 3-0 lead in the third inning, the Challengers had only managed one hit but had already committed four errors. At least Ben Dickow cut the score to 1-3 with a sac fly that Jimmy Siemers scored on in the second half of the third inning. Now the wind changed. In the fourth frame, the Challengers were able to take the lead with four runs. Yannik Hobi scored on a wild pitch, Fabrice Cadalbert scored on an error by the guests and finally Fabrizio Bucher gave his colors a 5-3 lead with a 2-run single. Ben Dickow pitched the final two innings without allowing a run, securing the Challengers a hard-fought victory.
In the second game, the Challengers got going quicker. Although their early 8-2 lead was briefly threatened again when the SG Eagles/Unicorns scored the maximum of five runs in the second inning, the Zurich team responded immediately with five runs of their own to make it 13-7. They brought this lead to the finish. The defending champions ultimately won 14-10. Jasper Freigang and Fabrizio Bucher each delivered two hits and two RBI, Ben Dickow scored three runs, while Jimmy Siemers and Alex Maron each contributed two runs to the triumph.

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Busy weekend for the Challengers with all the teams in action

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Next weekend all six Challengers teams will be in action. Four of them on Saturday, the NLB-Team and the U12-Juveniles on Sunday.
Three teams will play in Zurich on Saturday. The Softball-Team will welcome the Bern Cardinals on the Klopstockwiese in Zurich-Enge. The Challengers will try to maintain their winning streak, which has so far included five wins in a row. The games start at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The NLA-Team will play a preliminary round game in the newly designed Swiss Cup against the Zurich Barracudas’ NLB-Team at 2 p.m. at the Heerenschürli ballpark. The 1st League-Team will then play a night game at 6 p.m. in the Heerenschürli ballpark against the Zurich Eighters. This is finally the first game of the season for the 3rd team of the Challengers organization. Meanwhile, the U15-Cadets will host the SG Unicorns/Eagles at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Embrach PZ Hard.
On Sunday the U12-Juveniles will be in action on the Klopstockwiese. The Challengers’ youngest team meets the Wil Devils in the top battle of the Eastern Group. The games start at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The first pitch in the cup match for the NLB-Team will also take place at 11 a.m. The second team faces the Emrbrach Mustangs in the Heerenschürli ballpark.

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Softball-Team wins fifth in a row

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The Softball-Team collected two more wins against the Frogs in Sissach, so that the Challengers are riding a five game winning streak since the defeat in the opening game against the title holders Wittenbach Panthers. They are in second place in the standings with a 5-1 record.
The Challengers, who were severely weakened, got support from their neighbors Zurich Barracudas. The two talented young players Riona and Solana Lutz supported the Challengers in the Baselbiet. Thanks to strong performances in the pitcher’s circle, they got the two wins. This was also thanks to a solid defense, which played very confidently despite many changes. The C’s were only able to set a few accents on offense, but they remained patient at the plate and often got on base through walks, which they were regularly able to complete with successful runs. Finally the Challengers won 13-8 and 11-1.

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Challengers lose again against Barracudas

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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.

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Wild local derby in the NLB

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The NLB-Teams of the Zurich Challengers and the Zurich Barracudas fought a wild double header on Saturday. 56 runs, 50 hits, 40 walks and 27 errors are impressive numbers for 14 innings played. And in the end there was a win for both teams.
The start of the first game already gave an idea of where things could lead. The Challengers’ young guard gave them a 5-0 lead. Noam Müller, Jack Siemers, Florin Kampfer, Jordi Bucher and, on a wild pitch, Andreas Rüdisühli provided the runs. But after the first inning it was 5-5. The game went wild with several twists, turns and confusions. After five innings the game was tied at 17-17. Then the Challengers benefited from three errors by the Barracudas and took the lead once again with 20-17. Joseph Stotz took over as pitcher for the Challengers and stepped the bleeding. Apart from an RBI triple, he didn’t let any Barracudas runner score, so the Challengers were able to celebrate a memorable 20-18 victory. Florin Kampfer went 4-for-4 with 4 RBI, while Samuel Rodríguez Bautista, Thomas Landis, Juan Francisco Robles and Andreas Rüdisühli each had two hits.
And there was little missing for the Challengers to have followed up with a second win. The guests led 5-4 until the sixth inning. This was mainly thanks to four runs in the second inning, when the Challengers took a 4-2 lead with an RBI-single from Adderly Sarmiento, an RBI from Andreas Rüdisühli and a 2-run double from Honey Gigato Romero. But the Barracudas scored nine runs on nine hits in the sixth inning and took Game 2 by a score of 13-5. Honey Gigato Romero led the offense with three hits, while Adderly Sarmiento and Jack Siemers each delivered two hits.

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Challengers lose Friday night game

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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.

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Derby weekend

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Next weekend the local rivals Zurich Challengers and Zurich Barracudas will face each other four times in the Heerenschürli ballpark in Zurich-Schwamendingen. There are two games scheduled in the NLA on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon, while the NLB teams meet in a doubleheader on Saturday.
The NLA-Teams open the weekend with a night game on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. No duel in Swiss baseball history has been as evenly matched as the Zurich local derby. In the past 30 years the two teams have met 139 times. The statistics show 70-69 wins in favor of the Challengers. And so far this season the duel is even at 1-1 after both teams clearly won one game on the opening weekend. The second game is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m.
There will also be a clash between the Barracudas and the Challengers in the NLB. These games take place on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. And here too, both teams won one game each in the first meeting on the opening weekend.
The only team not involved in a local derby on the weekend is the Softball-Team. The women will meet the Sissach Frogs on Saturday. The games start at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Sissach Tannbrunn.

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Cadets sweep Pirates at Wil

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The U15 Cadets shine in game 1 with a no-hitter and a 16-0 win. The second game is much more competitive, but ends with another success for the Challengers with the score of 9-7.
Jasper Freigang and Ilai Blickenstorfer managed a rare no-hitter in the first game of the day. They faced the minimum of 15 batters as the Challengers defense came out the Pirates’ only two baserunners by caught stealings. The Zurich offense needed a moment to get up to speed. After one run in the first inning, the Challengers made the paved the way with five runs in the second. In the end, they scored a total of 16 runs. Ilai Blickenstorfer had three hits and one RBI, Noam Müller delivered two hits and three RBI, while Jasper Freigang, Fabrizio Bucher and Jimmy Siemers each contributed two hits.
The second game was a lot tighter. The Pirates initially took a 2-0 lead and then cut the deficit to 5-7 in the fourth inning. But the Challengers always had an answer. Five runs in the first inning created a cushion and they immediately increased the lead to 9-5 in the second half of the fourth inning. The home team loaded the bases in the last inning and got within 7-9 thanks to two walks, but the Challengers were able to end the threat with a somewhat fortunate double play.

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