The Challengers Juniors proved again that they hold the most talent in the juniors league by beating the Therwil Flyers twice in the 2008 finals and finishing the season perfect. And what a game it was! The C’s ace, Korey Kovac got off to a great start as usual giving up an unearned run in the first after a high pop up was dropped in the outfield. The Challengers offence came back in the first and scored to tie it up 1-1. The next inning was also a pitchers duel as both teams ace’s had three up-three down innings. Therwil decided to reserve their #1 arm for the last inning and went to their #2 guy, that move turned out to be the spark which lit the C’s offence.
Carl Varnauskas showed his speed by easily tuning long singles into doubles. The Challengers strategy was simple; if we don’t get doubles we will be stealing our way to second… quickly. And that is exactly what happened! Not one base runner was picked off, which constantly put runners in scoring position. One of the days biggest surprises was when Danilo Schneider turned a hard hit double into a four bagger. Danilo recognized the outfielders bobble and took off for third, as the third base coach noticed that the outfielder lobbed in the ball he quickly reacted and sent Schneider home. Rookie Migel Angerer also turned out to be a valuable addition to the Challengers as he hit a towering double to dead center which fell only about three feet short of a home run. The first game turned out to be a 19-1 blow out.
The second Game started almost identically as the first two innings where close. The Cadets stayed focused while coach Shemley constantly screamed, “we are still in 2nd place, no sleeping”. All in all the finals were a reflection of how the Cadets played the whole season, they not only out-hit their opponent, they out-pitched, -ran and -fielded them. The Challengers won the second game 9-0.
The kids also showed off their gloves and made it clear why they go by the slogan of “The only team that can beat the Challengers is the Challengers” by only committing two errors. Catcher Gabe Staub also made it clear that he is one of Switzerland’s most promising players. Not only did he let it be known that he is almost mature enough to call his own games he also threw out all runners and even came up with the game ending pickoff in the second game.
Let’s just hope they are able to keep on working out hard and follow up with another outstanding season in 2009.
Cadets do it again: Back-to-back Champions
Cadets Finals at Embrach
The U15-Cadets will play their third consecutive finals, when they face the Flyers/Frogs in Game 1 and 2 of their best-of-three series on Saturday, September 20. The games will take place at Embrach PZ Hard on 11am and 2pm.
The Softball-Team will play Game 1 and 2 of its best-of-three semifinal series against the Therwil Flyers on Saturday, September 20 in what will be a rematch of the finals 2005, 2006 and 2007. The games start at 10am and 12.30pm at Therwil Känelmatt I. If necessary, the third game will take place on Saturday, September 27 at 1pm at the Klopstockwiese. The other semifinal series between the Wil Devils and the Reussbühl Eagles is tied up at 1-1 and will be decided on Saturday at Reussbühl.
Winter practice 2008/2009
The winter practice for the Zurich Challengers Softball Team starts at October 21 and takes place every TUESDAY from 6pm till 7.45pm at the Turnhalle Lavater at the Schulhausstrasse 1 in Zurich-Enge (Tram 7 to Museum Rietberg).
Das Wintertraining für das Zürich Challengers Softball Team beginnt am 21. Oktober und findet jeden DIENSTAG von 18.00-19.45 Uhr in der Turnhalle Lavater an der Schulhausstr. 1 in Zürich-Enge statt (Tram 7 bis Museum Rietberg).
All games rained out
The most active people in Swiss Baseball and Softball this weekend were the groundkeepers and the persons in charge of the schedule, as all the Challengers’ games had to be cancelled due to rain and unplayable fields.
Game 1 and 2 of the softball semifinal series between the Challengers and the Therwil Flyers had to be postponed to Saturday, September 20 at Therwil.
The 1.Liga-Team will face the Geneva Dragons and the Romanshorn Submarines on Sunday, September 28 at Sissach.
On Saturday, September 13 Game 1 of the U15-Cadets best-of-three final series between the Challengers and the Flyers/Frogs and the Zurich Pilots’ deciding game for third place in the U12-Juveniles championship against the Wittenbach Vikings had to be postponed due to heavy rain as well. No make-up dates have been announced so far.
More playoff action
The Softball-Team will open its best-of-three semifinal series against the Therwil Flyers in Therwil on Sunday, September 14, at 11am and 1.30pm in what will be a rematch of the finals 2005, 2006 and 2007. If necessary, the third game will take place on Saturday, September 20, at 1pm on the Klopstockwiese.
The U15-Cadets will play their third consecutive finals, when they face the Flyers/Frogs in Game 1 of their best-of-three series on Saturday, September 13 at Therwil Känelmatt I. The game starts at 10.30am.
The Zurich Pilots will travel to Wittenbach on Saturday, September 13 where they will face the Wittenbach Vikings. The U12-Juveniles team with players from the Embrach Rainbows, Zurich Lions and the Challengers will finish their very first season with the deciding game for third place. The game starts at 11am.
The 1.Liga-Team will face the Geneva Dragons and the Romanshorn Submarines on Sunday, September 14. The games will start at 12.30pm and 3pm at Romanshorn Weitenzelg.
Challengers lose Finals
Finals: The Challengers couldn’t make the sensation happen, losing 14-4 in the Finals of the European Cup against the Mladost Skorpions. The Challengers were outhit 13-9, with Karen Heimgartner and Simone Zurschmitten having two hits each. In the end, Karen was named Best Pitcher of the tournament, and Lindsay Marshall received the trophy for Best Batter. Day 5: The Challengers will play in the title game on Saturday after beating the Mladost Skopions 4-0. Karen Heimgartner pitched another gem as she gave up only four hits, no walks, and struck out eight. Andrea Wirth had the game-winning RBI in the fourth inning, and two singles and two errors scored all the runs the Challengers need. The Grand Final will be played on Saturday at 3pm against Evriali Glyfadas.
Earlier in the day, the Challengers advanced to the Semifinals by winning all their games. In the final game, they beat the Skorpions 15-2 on Irene Bühler’s 4-hitter, allowing only 2 unearned runs and one walk, also striking out nine. The Challengers scored 11 times in the third inning to blow the game wide open. Ziegylou Wherli went 3-for-4 with four RBI’s, including a 3-run double, and Lindsay Marshall went 2-for-4 with a 3-run double in the third. Day 4: It seems as if nobody can beat the Challengers as they won their seventh game in a row. They beat Athletic Sofia 13-6 as Leandra Simitovic combined with Irene Bühler on a 6-hitter. The Challengers scored 11 times on eight hits in the first inning. Simitovic had a triple, Lindsay Marshall an RBI-triple and Alexia Zingg a bases-clearing double. Four players had at least two hits as the team improved to 7-0. Day 3: The Challengers are still undefeated after six games, mainly thanks to Karen Heimgartner’s stellar pitching performance. In Game 6, her 3-hit shutout of Evriali Glyfadas from Greece in a 7-0 rout put the Challengers at 6-0 and in first place in the standings. She struck out nine and walked only three, while Irene Buehler had a two-run double in the first and a triple in the third inning. Leandra Simitovic was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, and Heimgartner hit an RBI-double in the 5th to help her own cause.
In the first game of the day, the Challengers have defeated the Odense Giants 6-0 for a second time to improve their record at the European Cup to 5-0. Karen Heimgartner pitched a no-hitter with 13 K’s and just one base-on-balls. Heimgartner’s performance on the hill was backed up by Lindsay Marshall’s 3-for-3 performance, including 3 RBI’s. Day 2: The Challengers started into the European Cup in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria with a perfect 4-0 record. With wins against all four other teams, the Challengers have propelled themselves into the role of early favorites to win it all. Their latest triumph came against Athletic Sofia, whom they beat 12-4 behind Irene Buehler’s 12-4 complete game win, in which she allowed only three earned runs on seven hits and one walk, while also striking out four. Simona Cellar went 4-for-4, including a triple and a grand-slam homer to collect a total of six RBI’s. It was the first homer ever in the new built Levski complex at Dupnitsa. Charissa Rajnoch added a 3-run double, and Alexia Zingg hit an RBI-triple.
In Game 3 earlier in the day, they beat the Odense Giants 16-6. Leandra Simitovic pitched a complete game, allowing six runs – only two of them earned – on seven hits and two walks, while also striking out five. Simone Zurschmitten went 3-for-4, including a double and four RBI’s, Flavia Von Meiss also added three hits and four RBI’s in five at-bats, and Simona Cellar hit an RBI-triple. Corinne Wengi is listed as day-to-day after getting a deep cut in her left knee after a collision with the catcher in Game 1 on Monday against the Mladost Scorpions.
Day 1: The Challengers have won their first two games at the European Cup in Bulgaria. They won the opener 4-0 against Mladost Scorpions behind Karen Heimgartner’s 4-hit shutout. Ziegylou Wehrli put the Challengers on the board in the 3rd inning on an error, and Lindsay Marshall’s 2-run triple scored Andrea Wirth and Flavia Von Meiss.
In the following game against the Evriali Glyfadas from Greece, Heimgartner combined with Leandra Simitovic on a 1-hitter in a 5-2 victory. Simone Zurschmitten hit an RBI-single in the first inning, and Marshall had a 2-run triple in the second. She later added a double and a single, and collected three RBI’s. Heimgartner finished with 15 K’s on the mound.
Pics by Kevin Splunder ->
Challengers drop final two games
The Challengers lost twice to the Therwil Flyers, ending their season with a negative record of 9-11. In Game 1, The Flyers scored seven times in the second inning off Thomas Landis en route to an easy 13-1 win. In the second game, the Challengers offered a better contest, but nevertheless came up on the losing end in a 7-4 defeat.
Weiterlesen » Challengers drop final two gamesCadets move into Finals
Die Challengers U15 Cadets qualifizierten sich zum dritten aufeinanderfolgenden Mal für den Playoff-Final. Der Titelhalter gewann seine best-of-three Halbfinalserie gegen die Berner Bears mit zwei Siegen am Samstag, 30. August auf der Klopstockwiese. Die Challengers setzten sich im ersten Spiel mit 8-2 durch, indem sie im dritten Inning sechs Runs scoren konnten. Die zweite Partie hingegen war früh entschieden. Den Challengers gelangen bereits im ersten Inning elf Runs zu einem ungefährdeten 12-3 Sieg. Korey Kovac und Gabe Staub pitchten zwei starke Spiele, währen Carl Varnauskas und Josiah Webster mit zwei Ground-Rule Doubles über den Right Field Zaun für die offensiven Highlights verantwortlich zeichneten. Im Final treffen die Challengers auf die Spielgemeinschaft der Flyers/Frogs, die sich in ihrem Halbfinal mit zwei Siegen souverän gegen die Rümlang Kobras durchgesetzt haben.
Weiterlesen » Cadets move into FinalsLadies travel to Bulgaria
The Softball-Team travels to the Bulgarian city of Dupnitsa, where they will participate at this year’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup Women B from September 1 till 6. The C’s will play against Mladost Scorpions from Croatia, Evriali Glyfadas from Greece, Odense Giants from Denmark and the Bulgarian team Athletic Sofia. They will play a double round robin, the top four will move into the Final Round which will be played with the page system.
Further informations:Schedule
Official Tournament Homepage
Juniors in playoff action
The U15 Cadets open their best-of-three semifinal series against the Berner Bears on Saturday, August 30 at the Klopstockwiese. The reigning champions finished the Preeliminary Round with a perfect 10-0 record, while the Bears finished in fourth place with a 5-5 record. The games start at 11am and 1pm.
The Zurich Pilots will play Game 2 and if needed Game 3 of their best-of-three semifinal series against the Therwil Flyers on Sunday, August 31 at Therwil Känelmatt II. The U12-team with players from the Embrach Rainbows, the Zurich Lions and the Challengers lost the opener 3-10. Game 2 starts at 11am.
The NLA-Team (9-9) will travel to Therwil as well to face the Therwil Flyers (15-2) for their last games of the season on Sunday, August 31. The games start at 11am and 2pm.