Challengers rally with seven runs in fifth inning

The Challengers rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull out a 16-11 win over the Bern Cardinals in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader.

	Joe Cox finally came through and hit his first homer of the season, and also added his third double of the season.

The Challengers combined for four homers. Designated hitter Joe Cox hit his first tater of the season in the bottom of the second inning that put his team up 5-1.

The Cardinals crept closer in the third and fourth inning, and profited from the Challengers' poor defense.

They scored seven unanswered runs - all of them unearned - to take a temporary 8-7 lead after four innings.

Starter Benny Räber struggled early on but was let down by his infielders who committed all four errors in the third and fourth inning.

Räber was finished after four innings - his shortest outing this season. He gave up eight runs - only one of them earned - on seven hits and three walks while striking out one batter. He lowered his ERA to 3.78 in the process.

	Benny Räber lasted only four innings in his shortest outing this season and ended up with a no-decision.

He was relieved by Manny Marchant. He had problems finding his control and quickly gave up three walks to the first three batters he faced.

All three of them scored for an 11-7 lead for the Cardinals after 4 1/2 innings.

But the Challengers came back in the bottom of the fifth inning and mounted a huge comeback.

Jose Valdez led off the inning by flying out to center field, but the next ten batters reached safely.

Marchant hit a solo homer, his seventh of the season to tie him for the lead with Thomas Landis, Tobias Siegrist hit a two-run double, and Cox sent starter Severin Fries to the showers with his RBI-double.

	Chris Palatinus delivers a three-run shot in his first at-bat.

Cardinals' player-coach Yourth took over and surrendered one more run for a 14-11 Challenger lead.

After that, Marchant shut down the Cardinals and gave up just one more single, and earned his first victory of the season.

The Challengers scored two more times in the bottom of the sixth on Anubis Benitez' sixth homer of the season.

Game notes: Chris Palatinus' three-run shot in the first inning was his 20th homer of his NLA-career. ...Armin Blickenstorfer">Armin Blickenstorfer was the only Challenger in the lineup without a hit.