The Challengers played the final weekend of the regular season with a squad depleted by summer vacation and illness and turned in a very good performance against in both games. The Cadets were victorious over the Wil Devils by a score of 11-1 and then lost to the Wittenbach Vikings 11-4 in the season finale.
On the day the big bat was swung by Marcel Zuberbühler who went 2 for 2 with a double, he scored 3 runs and had 4 RBI’s. Cedric Thommen had a huge day going 5 for 6 with 2 doubles, a home run, 3 runs scored and 6 RBI’s. Tobias Haynor went 2 for 3 and scored 2 runs. Sebastian Bonger and Tobias Bonger each scored 2 runs as well.
On the Mound in the first game, Cedric Thommen pitched 3 strong innings with 6 strike outs and Toby Haynor closed out the game striking out 3 batters in one inning pitched. In the second game Seb Bonger pitched 3 outstanding innings against a very strong Vikings lineup. Cedric Thommen closed out the game in the final inning.
Congratulations to the Cadets on a very successful season finishing at 8-2.
Cadets Finish Regular Season in Second Place
Challengers upset Barracudas
The Challengers stopped the Barracudas’ five-game winning streak on Saturday night, June 23, as the C’s edged the Barracudas 6-4. The Barracudas outhit the C’s 13-6 and erased a three-run deficit to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth frame, but the C’s set the last exclamation point in the top of the ninth. Harry Bregy, in his first game since August 2008, reached base by a hit by pitch and later scored the game-winning run, as the Barracudas misplayed Luigi Cinardi’s ground ball with two outs, that enabled also Stephan Pribitzer to cross the plate to make it 6-4.
Andrea Girasole allowed four runs and 13 hits with no walks and five strikeouts in eight innings of work for his fifth win of the season, while closer Tobias Siegrist retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to notch his first save of the year.
The two teams will face each other again on Tuesday, June 26 for another night game at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
NLB-Team shut down by Barracudas
The NLB-Team dropped to fourth place with a 6-6 record after losing twice to the Zürich Barracudas on Saturday, June 23. Game 1 was all Barracudas, as they jumped off to an early lead and held on for a 16-0 shutout victory. And the Barracudas almost repeated their effort, as they posted an 18-5 win in Game 2.
The Challengers will play the Therwil Flyers next on July 21 at the Heerenschürli ballpark.
Juveniles lost twice to Hunters
The U12-Juveniles lost twice in a battle for first place in the west division against the Thun Hunters on Saturday, June 23. The SG TruckStar/Challengers was edged by the Hunters 9-11 in Game 1, before losing 9-16 in Game 2.
Continue Reading » Juveniles lost twice to HuntersDrei Stadtderbys am Samstag
Die Challengers und die Barracudas bestreiten am Samstag, 23. Juni den zweiten Derby Day der Saison im Baseballstadion Heerenschürli. Den Derbytag eröffnen die NLB-Teams, die um 10.00 und 13.00 Uhr einen Doubleheader spielen werden. Die Challengers liegen in der Tabelle an zweiter Stelle, verloren aber am 2. Juni zweimal gegen die viertplatzierten Barracudas.
Die NLA-Teams spielen um 18.00 Uhr ein Night Game im Heerenschürli. Die Barracudas gewannen sieben ihrer letzten acht Partien, die einzige Niederlage in dieser Spanne datiert vom 2. Juni, als sie mit 5-9 gegen die Challengers verloren.
Das Softball-Team empfängt die Bern Cardinals am Sonntag, 24. Juni auf der Klopstockwiese. Die Challengers werden versuchen mit zwei Erfolgen den Tabellennachbar aus der Hauptstadt in der Tabelle zu überholen. Spielbeginn ist um 11.00 und 13.30 Uhr.
Die U12-Juveniles reisen am Samstag, 23. Juni nach Thun, wo die SG TruckStar/Challengers im Duell der beiden Tabellenersten gegen die Thun Hunters antreten werden. Die Spiele beginnen um 11.00 und 13.30 Uhr auf der Thuner Progymatte.
Die U15-Cadets fahren am Sonntag, 24. Juni ostwärts, wo sie in Wil gegen die Wil Devils und die Wittenbach Vikings antreten werden. Die Spiele beginnen um 10.00 und 12.30 Uhr auf dem Lindenhof in Wil.
Ladies lose fourth in a row
Tuesday night was a bad case of déjà vu for the Softball-Team, as the Challengers were edged by the Barracudas 6-7 at Rümlang. For the third time this season and for the second time against the Barracudas, the C’s lost a game with the bases loaded and the tying run on base in the seventh inning. With two outs Elise Beguelin lined a rope right into the glove of Barracudas shortstop Ines Dübendorfer to seal their 7-6 victory.
Despite the Challengers outhit the Barracudas 11-6 and the C’s defense committed less errors, the Challengers lost for the fourth time in a row. Melissa Everitt broke up a 2-2 tie with a two-run double in the second frame and a 5-5 tie with a two-run single in the fourth inning. The C’s tied the game in the top of the fourth, as Andrea Wirth, Celine Welti and Taylor Mc Cants scored three runs to make it 5-5, but they managed to score only one more run in the last three frames, while leaving six runners on base in this span.
Elise Beguelin delivered three hits including two doubles and Taylor Mc Cants went 3-for-4 and scored twice, while Leandra Simitovic gave up seven runs – six earned – on six hits and seven walks while striking out one.
The Challengers dropped to sixth place with a dismal 5-8 record and are already two games behind fourth place.
Softball-Derby am Dienstag
Die Softballerinnen treffen am Dienstag Abend, 19. Juni in Rümlang auf den Lokalrivalen Zürich Barracudas. Die ersten beiden Begegnungen am 20. Mai konnten die Barracudas mit 6-3 und 13-7 nach Extra-Innings knapp für sich entscheiden. Spielbeginn ist um 19.00 Uhr in Rümlang Rümelbach.
Continue Reading » Softball-Derby am DienstagChallengers move over .500
The Challengers moved over .500 for the first time in 2012 after sweeping the Luzern Eagles on Sunday, June 17 at the Heerenschürli ballpark. Andrea Girasole tossed seven dominant innings, as he allowed one run, two hits and three walks while striking out eight and the offense scored five times in the sixth inning to make it 6-0, as the Challengers posted a 9-5 victory in Game 1 over the Eagles.
The C’s had also a good start in Game 2, as they opened the score in the first inning to make it 3-0. The Eagles answered with two runs in the second frame and four in the fourth to make it 6-3, but the C’s battled hard and turned the game around again en route to an 11-7 win. Fabio Aimi went 4-for-5 and Luigi Cinardi drove in three runs, while Tobias Siegrist and Chris Palatinus scored three runs apiece. The Challengers remain in fifth place, but improved their record to 6-5.
U15-Cadets mit zwei weiteren Erfolgen
Die U15-Cadets der Challengers zeigten erneut eine starke Leistung und konnten sich am Sonntag, 17. Juni zwei weitere Siege gutschreiben. Das erste Spiel gegen die Black Hawks ging mit 8-0 an die Challengers, im zweiten Spiel des Tages setzten sich die Challengers gegen die Hünenberg Unicorns knapp mit 9-7 durch.
Continue Reading » U15-Cadets mit zwei weiteren ErfolgenCadets are tied for first place
The Challengers U15-Cadets were victorious in both games this weekend taking the first game against the Blackhawks by a score of 8-0 and battling a very tough Unicorns team in the second game for a 9-7 victory. They now stand at 7-1 and combined with a Viking loss against Ruemlang this weekend they are tied for first place in the East Division.
In the opening game, Michael Iacono and Sebastian Bonger combined to pitch a no-hitter against the Blackhawks, facing just 18 batters in 5 innings. Iacono got the win and struck out 5 in the first three innings and Bonger closed out the last two making some great defensive plays himself.
Offensive firepower was provided by Cedric Thommen who hit two triples, scored two runs and had 2 RBI’s. Iacono also had a big day at the plate going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored. The game broke open in the second inning with 5 runs scored including Iacono, Seb Bonger, Tobias Bonger, Julius Blom and Thommen.
In the second game the Challengers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first. Thommen walked and worked quickly around the bases and scored on a passed ball. Jake Tuckner then walked and scored on an RBI single by Tobias Haynor. Haynor scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Seb Bonger. Iacono and Alex Homburg also got in on the scoring act in the inning. The Challengers added a couple more runs in the second and third innings and seemed to have the game well in hand when the Unicorns exploded for 5 runs in the third making it a very exciting two run game.
Thommen scored again in the fourth to make it an 8-5 game and then Jake Tuckner came in to pitch and shut down the Unicorns 1-2-3 in the fourth. Seb Bonger scored in the sixth to give Tuckner a 4 run cushion. In the bottom of the final inning the heart of the Unicorns order scored two more runs but with the backing of a strong defense Tuckner shut them down.
On the mound Iacono got the win and struck out 6 batters in 3 innings. Tuckner struck out 3 in two innings pitched and got the save.
After the game coach Todd Tuckner was asked about the keys to the game, “The team pitched very well, made some great defensive plays, and really closed out in a gutsy fashion in a tough game with the momentum turning against us.”
Congratulations to the Challengers Cadets and good luck in the final weekend of the season on 24 June at Wil.