Flyers 12, Challengers 11

The Therwil Flyers scored 11 runs in the 6th inning to overcome a 9-1 deficit to beat the Zürich Challengers 12-11 in their playoff semifinals opener in Zurich on Sunday.

The Challengers committed four errors in that innning and nine of the Flyers' 11 runs were unearned.

Flyers starter Alain Kurz left after 4.1 innings, trailing 9-1. But his team came right back in the top of the sixth to give reliever Kleiber (6-2) his first postseason win.

Thomas Landis>

Thomas Landis has hit his 11th homer in the last 10 games, but lost to the Flyers 12-11.

They know they can come back any time, no matter what the score, and they're doing it at the right time of year, Challengers manager Marvin Moore said of the Flyers. When you play a team like this you can't afford to sit back on a 9-1 lead and let them come back into the game by making four errors.

Thomas Landis opened the score for the Challengers by hitting a homer in his 10th consecutive game. His three-run shot off Kurz scored Saentis Zeller, who reached on a base-on-balls and Gary Kochlefl who reached on a fielding error by second baseman Fernando Abril.

Flyers' first baseman Roy Allenspach led off the fourth inning with a sharp single down the middle and got to third base on two wild pitches by Landis. Alain Kurz hit a sac fly to right center to score Allenspach from third for the Flyers' first run of the game.

After going down in order in the fourth inning, the Challengers sent 11 batters to the plate in the next inning. Kochlefl doubled and Landis followed with his 11th homer of the year to put the Challengers ahead 5-1. Roger Brunner struck out for the first out of the inning, but the next five Challengers reached on two hit-by-pitches (Iqbal Khan and Bryan Shemley), an error by third baseman Andreas Mathis on a sacrifice bunt by Chris Palatinus, a two-run homer by Armin Blickenstorfer">Armin Blickenstorfer and a single by Nicki Lehmann.

In came reliever Kleiber and he allowed just one baserunner over the next three innings. The only runs he allowed were on Brunner's two-run shot that trimmed the Flyers' lead to 12-11 in the bottom of the eighth.

Closer Allenspach tossed a scoreless ninth to get the save. He allowed only a single to pinch hitter Makoto Fukamachi who jumped on a changeup-pitch and drilled it to left field.

Anytime you make mental mistakes or walk people, it usually comes back to bite you, Marvin Moore said. Right now we're playing a team that's playing well, and they capitalize on those mistakes.`;