Challengers battle head-to-head with Frogs, survive with 7-6 win

The Challengers outdueled the Sissach Frogs 7-6 in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader and remained undefeated in the Qualification Round with a 6-0 record.

	Benny Räber improved his record to 6-0 by pitching five innings.

The Challengers surrendered their lead just once, but came back in the fourth inning and held on with a fine pitching performance by starter Benny Räber and closer Manny Marchant.

Räber (6-0) was given a 3-0 lead before he even stepped on the mound for the first time, but he wasn't able to hold it.

An RBI-double by Thomas Landis, Jose Valdez' run-scoring ground out and an RBI-single by Roger Brunner put the Challengers ahead 3-0 in the first inning, but Stephan Lüthy's RBI-single, followed by Stephan Wick's two-run single immediately tied the score at 3-3 in the bottom half of the inning.

The Frogs even went ahead on Lüthy's RBI-double in the second inning, but the Challengers came right back and tied it at 4-4 the next inning as Tobias Siegrist's soft liner with two outs fell behind the infield for an RBI-single.

The Frogs wasted a huge chance to come back in the bottom of the fourth inning.

With runners on second and third and no outs and a run already in, Lüthy hit a routine fly to center fielder Brunner with what looked like a sure sac fly. But both runners broke on contact, and Brunner's relay throw to shortstop Landis was in time to double the runner off second base.

Claudio Heim, who was standing on third base already was at home plate with what he thought was the tying run.

But the Challengers appealed that he broke too early from third base, and base umpire Roy Allenspach confirmed it and called him out to complete the triple play.

The Challengers added a run in the sixth inning on a perfectly executed squeeze play by Harry Bregy who laid down a bunt that enabled Kurt Kovac to score easily from third.

Marchant was called upon to close things out.

He did so, but not before allowing an unearned run that cut the Challengers' lead to 7-6.

Patrick Zöllig, substituting for Landis at shortstop made a wide throw to first on Michael Klee's grounder that first baseman Bregy couldn't handle. Bregy scrambled for the ball and Klee broke for second. Bregy misfired the ball to second base and Klee was safe. He went on to score on Claudio Heim's RBI-single, but Marchant got Ivano Piaia to hit an inning-ending fly out to right.

The Frogs had another chance in the final inning when Wick was standing on second base after reaching on third baseman Kovac's throwing error and advanced on Siegrist's passed ball.

But Marchant again proved to be too strong and ended the game on a fly out and a strike out to earn his record fourth save of the season. He also has a record eight saves in his career.

Game notes
Chris Palatinus collected his 200th career RBI - 3rd on the Challengers' alltime list behind Landis and Valdez - with a sac fly in the fourth inning. ...Landis was the last Challengers pitcher to go undefeated through an entire season, completing the feat in 1999 when he went 7-0.