Frogs pound it on Schaub, score nine in first for win

The Sissach Frogs didn't have to do too much in this game to earn a victory - the Challengers handed it to them.

Starter Willy Schaub caught a bad day and didn't manage to finish the first inning, giving up nine unearned runs on three hits, four walks and two hit-by-pitches.

It started well as Schaub got Daniel Traina to ground into a 5-4-3 double play, but shortstop Anubis Benitez made a costly error that prolonged the inning.

Stefan Wick followed with a single, and Schaub walked three of the next four batters and also hit one with a pitch.

After batting around once, Alesandro Traina laid down an RBI-single, and Daniel Traina cleared the bases with a three-run double, sending Schaub to the showers.

Oliver Labhart relieved, but he was greeted by back-to-back singles by Markus Schaffner and Christian Klarer.

Wick - as the 14th batter of the inning - finally flied out to left to end the inning.

The Challengers, on the other hand, were left helpless against rookie Thomas Fink.

They left the bases loaded in the first inning, had two left on in the next frame, and fell victim to a bad-luck line-drive double play in the third.

Labhart also held the Frogs scoreless, allowing no runner past second base for the rest of the game.

In the end, he pitched 5 1-3 scoreless innings with six runs and no base-on-balls allowed.

But the nine runs given up by Schaub were too much to overcome, and they finally managed to get on the board in the sixth inning.

A bases-loaded walk to Labhart and a run-scoring ground out by Ramon Perez scored two unearned runs for the Challengers.

A sac fly by Tobias Siegrist scored Chris Palatinus with the third and final run of the game.

Game notes
Benitez went hitless in seven at-bats against the Frogs, and is hitting .341 lifetime against them, his worst average against any NLA-team. ...The loss was only the second loss on opening day for the Challengers since 1997.