Challengers overcome Enz grand slam, rally to win 9-6

The Challengers' offense sputtered, and Benny Räber's pitching wasn't top either.

	Roger Brunner finally hit his first homer of the year against the Eagles.

But the Challengers managed to rally from a 6-4 deficit to beat the Reussbühl Eagles 9-6 in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader.

The Challengers took a 3-0 lead after two innings on Tobias Siegrist's RBI-single in the first that extended his hitting streak to eight games, and Anubis Benitez' two-run homer, his third of the season.

After striking out six of the first nine batters Räber faced, he opened the fourth by walking Stephan Bhend and allowing a double to Alston Brooks. Both runners scored on Marcel Enz's single that was misplayed by right fielder Manny Marchant to cut the Challengers' lead to 3-2.

Benitez hit his second homer of the game in the bottom half of the inning with two outs to give his team a 4-2 lead, but that was all the Challengers produced off starter Pat Steiner.

	Pat Steiner wasn't able to protect a two-run lead in the final two innings.

Räber then started the fifth inning by getting the first two batters, but then lost it by giving up a line drive single to Bhend, followed by two walks that loaded the bases for Enz.

Enz jumped on the first offering by Räber and smashed the ball over the right center field fences for his second homer of the season.

That blast sent Räber to the showers with Marchant taking over on the mound.

He got the first batter he faced to ground out to Benitez for the final out.

The Challengers, with their backs to the wall, didn't hesitate to rally from a 6-4 deficit. Siegrist led off the bottom half of the fifth inning with his third homer of the season.

Pat Steiner then managed to retire Marchant and Armin Blickenstorfer">Armin Blickenstorfer, but Roger Brunner tied the game at 6 apiece with his first homer of the season.

The Challengers even went ahead when Harry Bregy singled and took second with a steal before Thor Thoresen plated him with an RBI-single.

Marchant (1-0) shut out the Eagles' offense over the next two innings, allowing just two more singles and striking out four batters, three of them with a runner at third base.

Marchant even gave himself a cushion of two more runs as he batted in Benitez and Chris Palatinus with a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning for the final score of 9-6.

Game notes
Closer Marchant pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings, and now has pitched 8 shutouts innings this season in relief, giving up only five hits and four walks and also striking out 10 of the 31 batters he faced.