Challengers start winter practice

Though the temperatures in 2014 are higher than average so far, spring is still far away. Nonetheless the Challengers baseball and softball teams are practicing indoors since early January.
 
The teams are practicing between two and six hours a week, with special workouts for pitchers and catchers. The practices for the seniors teams take place at the Rämibühl gym close to the University of Zurich, while practice for the juniors teams takes place at the Aubrücke gym in Zürich-Schwamendingen and the Schauenberg gym for pitchers and catchers in Zürich-Affoltern.
 
Though the indoor practices may not replace the work at the ballpark, the teams are excited to be back in action. At least they don't have to worry about bad weather.
 
The Zurich outdoor season will start with the 17th edition of the Zurich International Spring Tournament on March 29 and 30 at the Heerenschürli ballpark.

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Winter Practice 2014

Grössere Kartenansicht
 
The winter practice for the Zurich Challengers Baseball Team will take place every Wednesday from 6.15pm till 7.45pm and every Friday from 6.15pm till 9.30pm at the Turnhalle Rämibühl at the Rämistrasse 80 in Zurich (tram 5 & 9 to Kantonsschule). The first session after the Christmas break will take place on Wednesday, January 8.
In addition to that the pitcher/catcher practice takes place every Tuesday from 8.15pm till 9.30pm.
 
Das Wintertraining für das Zürich Challengers Baseball Team findet jeden Mittwoch von 18.15 bis 19.45 Uhr und jeden Freitag von 18.15-21.30 Uhr in der Turnhalle Rämibühl an der Rämistr. 80 in Zürich statt (Tram 5 & 9 bis Kantonsschule). Das erste Training nach den Weihnachtsferien findet am Mittwoch, 8. Januar statt.
Zusätzlich findet das Pitcher/Catcher Training jeden Dienstag von 20.15 bis 21.30 Uhr statt.

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Winter Practice 2014

Grössere Kartenansicht
 
The winter practice for the Zurich Challengers Softball Team will take place every Tuesday from 6.15pm till 8.15pm and every Thursday from 8.00pm till 9.30pm at the Turnhalle Rämibühl at the Rämistrasse 80 in Zurich (tram 5 & 9 to Kantonsschule). The first session after the Christmas break will take place on Tuesday, January 7.
In addition to that the pitcher/catcher practice will take place every Tuesday from 8.15pm till 9.30pm.
 
Das Wintertraining für das Zürich Challengers Softball Team findet jeden Dienstag von 18.15 bis 20.15 Uhr und jeden Donnerstag von 20.00 bis 21.30 Uhr in der Turnhalle Rämibühl an der Rämistr. 80 in Zürich statt (Tram 5 & 9 bis Kantonsschule). Das erste Training nach den Weihnachtsferien findet am Dienstag, 7. Januar statt.
Zusätzlich findet jeden Dienstag von 20.15 bis 21.30 Uhr das Pitcher/Catcher Training statt.

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Challengers Generalversammlung

Am Sonntag, 1. Dezember fand im Restaurant Linde Oberstrass in Zürich die 34. ordentliche Generalversammlung des Challengers Baseball & Softball Clubs statt. Der Verein konnte auf ein sportlich wie finanziell erfolgreiches Geschäftsjahr zurückblicken. Der Vorstand um Präsident Adrian Kämpfer wurde im Amt bestätigt.
 
Für 2014 werden die Softballerinnen zusammen mit den Softballerinnen der Zürich Barracudas neu ein gemeinsames Team in der Meisterschaft stellen. In der 1. Liga der Baseballer sowie allen Juniorenklassen wird die Zusammenarbeit mit den Dulliken Truck Star weitergeführt. Die NLA-Meisterschaft der Baseballer umfasst 2014 nur noch sechs Teams, nachdem sowohl die Wil Devils als auch der diesjährige Finalist Embrach Mustangs sich freiwillig in die NLB zurückgezogen haben.
 
Die Auszeichnungen als "MVP" ihrer jeweiligen Teams erhielten Tobias Siegrist (Baseball NLA), Carlos Nepomuceno (Baseball NLB), Michel Romang (Baseball 1.Liga) und Simona Cellar (Softball).

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Siegrist wins sixth MVP trophy

Tobias Siegrist was credited with his sixth career MVP trophy at the Challengers General Assembly on December 1. Siegrist batted .336 with 38 hits, 19 runs scored and finished the season with a 4-3 record and a 3.50 ERA while striking out 51 batters in 54 innings on the mound.
Rookie Eidrys Reyes was honored with the Best Batter award and the Rookie of the year award. Reyes set team leading marks with a .473 batting average, a .510 on-base percentage, 61 hits, 10 doubles and 31 RBI's. He also finished the season with the best batting average of the Swiss Baseball NLA in 2013.
Robert Sedin won his second consecutive Best Pitcher award, as he finished the season with a 7-6 record and a 3.12 ERA and he set a franchise record striking out 135 batters in 101 innings of work, breaking Thomas Landis' mark of 118 K's set in 1997.
Harry Bregy walked away with the Best Fielder award for the fourth time in his career, as he committed only one error in 176 chances, while Bryan Shemley was named Most Improved Player.

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Nepomuceno to win MVP honors

Carlos Nepomuceno received the NLB-Team's MVP award at the General Assembly on December 1. He batted .337 and set team highs with 33 hits and 29 RBI's. Kurt Kovac was credited with the Best Batter award, as he batted .340 and led the team with 33 hits, 11 doubles and 37 runs scored. Nick Lehmann was honored with the Best Pitcher award in his comeback season. He finished the year with a 5-1 record and a 3.78 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 46.1 innings. Catcher Yusuke Azuma walked away with the Best Fielder award, while Francesco Falcone was named Rookie of the Year.

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Cellar takes home hardware

Simona Cellar won her first MVP award at the Challengers' General Assembly on December 1. Cellar set team-highs with 26 hits, 6 doubles, 1 homerun, 10 RBI's and 16 runs scored, while leading the team with a .464 batting average and a .531 on-base percentage to take away also the Best Batter award.
Karen Heimgartner was named Best Pitcher for the fourth time after 2006, 2007 and 2008, as she went 2-4 with  46 strikeouts and a 5.10 ERA in 46.1 innings pitched. She was also credited with the Best Fielder award finishing with a .975 fielding percentage, as she committed only two errors.
Anouk Lkharrazi was named Most Improved Player, while Henna Määttä earned the Rookie of the Year award, as she batted .178 with 8 hits, 6 runs and 4 RBI's.

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Romang named MVP

Michel Romang received the 1st League-Team's MVP award at the General Assembly on December 1. Romang batted .375 with 10 RBI's and a .516 on-base percentage and tossed 3 complete games and fanned 23 batters in 25 innings pitched, earning him also the Best Pitcher award. Torbjørn Olsen was credited with the Best Batter award with a .333 batting average and a .489 on-base percentage. Ryan Koley was named best fielder, committing only 4 errors in 51 total chances resulting in a .927 fielding percentage. Andreas Rüdisühli received the Most Improved Player award finishing the season with a .419 on-base percentage, while Jeffrey Pomuceno was named Rookie of the Year.

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