Challengers get it done in 9-4 win

The Challengers won Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Jona Bandits 9-4 in little convincing fashion.

Harry Bregy started on the mound and went 5 2-3 innings for the win, his team-leading third this season. He allowed four runs on six hits and four walks while also striking out seven.

He was relieved in the bottom of the sixth inning as three runs crossed the plate.

Thomas Burger pitched the final 1 1-3 innings, giving up only one more hit and a base-on-balls, and also striking out three more batters.

The Bandits were held to just one run over the first five innings, while the Challengers built up a 4-1 lead.

Chris Palatinus hit an RBI-double in the second to open the scoring, and Thomas Landis added a two-run double in the fourth.

The Challengers pulled away in the top of the sixth as the first three batters reached safely.

Vedran Blazevic singled, Thomas Blank followed with a double, and Ramon Perez plated Blazevic with a single to center.

After Nick Lehmann struck out looking, Tobias Siegrist followed with a double, driving in Blank. Because third baseman Ureña couldn't handle the ball, Perez also came around to score.

Saentis Zeller then followed with his first homer of the season, a two-run shot that drove in Siegrist for a 9-1 lead.

After exchanging pitchers, the Bandits managed to stop the scoring. Ureña took over and retired two of the next three batters.

The Bandits, whose lineup featured four former Challengers (Adris Linares, Jose Valdez, Orlando Balbuena and Bryan Shemley), didn't give up, though, and fought back in the bottom half of the inning.

With two runners aboard, Hernandez doubled to knock in Linares, and Oboussier also scored on second baseman Patrick Zöllig's fielding error.

A ground out by Zeno Stämmer pushed the fourth run for the Bandits over the plate, chasing Bregy.

Rookie Burger took over and promptly gave up a single and a base-on-balls to the first two batters. But he struck out Schnider to end the inning.

No team managed to score in the final frame, leaving the score at 9-4 in favor of the Challengers.

Game notes
Siegrist's double in the sixth inning was the 200th hit of his NLA-career. ...Anubis Benitez' single in the second inning gives him 544 career total bases, tying him with Jose Valdez for 2nd place alltime.