Challengers tie Series at 1 with 16-6 win; force deciding Game 3

The Challengers avenged Saturday's bitter 7-6 loss against the Bern Cardinals with a 16-6 triumph in seven innings in Game 2 of this year's best-of-three Playoff semifinal series.

	Thomas Landis completed his second game of the season, giving up six runs on 10 hits and four walks and striking out 10.

Just as in game 1 yesterday, the Cards again scored first, this time on an RBI-single by Rodriguez in the top of the second inning.

But the Challengers answered with five runs. They combined three hits - a single by Manny Marchant, and two homers by Joe Cox and Nick Lehmann - with three errors to go up 5-1 after two innings.

All five runs were unearned.

After hanging on to a 6-1 lead in the middle of the fourth inning, the Challengers added four more runs in the bottom of the fifth on Chris Palatinus' grand slam homer, his second homer in two days, and his second grand slam homer of the season.

	Chris Palatinus hits his second grand slam homer and sixth overall of the year.

The Cards got three runs back in the next inning. Claude Prestegaard had an RBI-single, and Severin Fries followed with a two-run homer off starter Thomas Landis.

Fries' homer was the only extra-base hit Landis (6-0) had given up in the game. He finished with six runs given up on 10 hits and four walks while striking out 10, and earning his team-leading sixth win of the year. It was his second complete game of the season and his first since May 2.

	Tobi Siegrist missed that pitch but ended up with two doubles and two RBI's.

The Cards scored their final runs in the top of the seventh inning on RBI-singles by Will Scheidegger and Tom Volk.

But the Challengers wanted to finish the game in seven innings based on the 10-run mercy rule.

They did so by profiting from a balk called against Fries that scored Palatinus, a run-scoring fielder's choice by Jose Valdez, Armin Blickenstorfer">Armin Blickenstorfer's RBI-double, and rookie Tobias Siegrist's RBI-double that ended the game 16-6 for the Challengers.

The two teams will now meet in the third and deciding game at the Heerenschürli next Saturday. The winner will advance to the Finals, where the Therwil Flyers, who swept the Embrach Rainbows, are waiting.

Game Notes: Bryan Shemley singled in the Challengers' 1000th at-bat of the season in the fifth inning. Palatinus followed with his grand slam homer. Shemley also reached in his 100th at-bat of the season, profiting from a fielding error by third baseman Volk in the second inning. ...Palatinus broke his career high with his 33rd hit of the season, and he also broke his career high for RBI's with no. 27 in the second inning. ...Valdez struck out in his 100th at-bat of the season.