Challengers win 15th in a row with dramatic 6-4 win

After the Challengers won the first three of the four season-series games against their crosstown rivals, the Zurich Barracudas were determined to win at least once.

	Benny Räber cruised to his seventh consecutive win with a complete-game victory over the Barracudas.

But with prestige and their 14-game winning streak on the line, the Challengers rallied in the fifth and sixth innings to sweep their rivals with a dramatic 6-4 win in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader.

Starter Benny Räber and Barracuda Sandro Giambonini exchanged zeros on the scoreboard through the first three innings. Räber didn't allow a baserunner past first base and faced the minimum of nine batters, while Giambonini's shutout was threatened in the top of the third inning as Thor Thoresen hit a one-out double. He was erased a batter later when Patrick Zöllig grounded into a fielder's choice.

Räber continued to make effective pitches in the fourth inning, but his defense let him down as shortstop Zöllig couldn't handle Von Burg's leadoff ground ball.

Von Burg then tried to steal second and would have been erased easily by catcher Tobias Siegrist's throw. But Zöllig dropped the ball and Von Burg was safe.

	A frustrated Challenger bench after a disastrous fourth inning.

Manu Hirtz then followed with a ground ball to third, and third baseman Anubis Benitez made a wild throw to first for the third error of the inning. Jeff Cloos stepped up and promptly knocked a hanging offering by Räber out of the park for a 3-0 lead.

Räber's defense then finally managed to retire Farid Bekkali on a ground out, but Stephan Suter followed with a single, and Zöllig booted Thomas Götschi's grounder for his third error of the inning.

Räber then took matters in his own hands and rang up Giambonini on three strikes, and getting Alain Chisari to fly out to right for the third out.

The Challengers didn't hesitate to make up for their defensive blunders in the next inning as Manny Marchant led off with a double, followed by a walk to Armin Blickenstorfer">Armin Blickenstorfer. After Roger Brunner struck out, Thoresen knocked off Giambonini with a two-run double that brought in reliever Cloos who finished the inning with no further damage.

	Armin Blickenstorfer hits his fifth double of the season off Jeff Cloos in the sixth inning.

Räber retired the side in the bottom half of the inning, and then the Challengers kicked into gear in the top of the sixth inning.

Blickenstorfer hit an RBI-double, pinch-hitter Harry Bregy hit an RBI-single, and Benitez followed with a two-run double to give his team a 6-3 lead.

Although loading the bases by walking Siegrist intentionally, the Challengers failed to do further damage with just one out as Thomas Landis grounded into a fielder's choice and Jose Valdez was retired on a ground out to third.

The Barracudas staged a comeback when Cloos and Frank Berchtold reached with consecutive walks to open the bottom of the sixth inning, Suter sacrificed them over with a sac bunt, and Götschi's ground out scored Cloos to bring his team within 6-4.

	Anubis Benitez had a game-high three hits, inlcuding his seventh double of the season.

But Räber struck out Giambonini to end the threat.

The Challengers weren't able to give Räber some insurance runs in the top of the seventh and final inning, so the Barracudas were still hoping to turn things around.

Chisari led off with a single to put the winning run into the on-deck circle.

Chisari tried to steal second base on the first pitch by Räber, but retreated half way and was barely safe back at first.

To the amazement of the Challengers, Chisari took a huge lead on the next pitch by Räber, and as soon as catcher Siegrist had the ball, he made a quick pickoff throw to first that caught Chisari in a rundown between first and second. Räber finished it by tagging Chisari who tried to slide into first for the first out.

Strahil Georgiev then struck out, and Ueli Von Burg grounded out weakly to shortstop Benitez to end the game and give the Challengers their 15th consecutive win.

The Challengers now hold a firm grip on second place in the standings with just three games remaining in the regular season. The Bern Cardinals are third, one and a half game behind the Challengers.

The Challengers will have to win just once against the Embrach Rainbows next weekend to secure second place and home-field advantage throughout the Playoff Semifinals against the Cardinals, beginning on August 25.

Game notes
Siegrist ended his hitting streak at 16 games by going 0-for-3 and receiving an intentional walk in his final plate appearance. Brunner and Marchant now share the team-lead with 12-game hitting streaks. ...Räber's win was his seventh in a row.