Challengers down Eagles 11-6

The Challengers did just enough to hold off the Reussbühl Eagles in an 11-6 win in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader.

The Challengers scored in all of the first four innings, and also profited from five costly errors by the Eagles' defense.

Only three of the 11 runs allowed by starter Jerome Müller were earned, as five errors in the infield were just too much to overcome.

The condition of the field wasn't the best, either, as rain had soaked the field all week. Moreover, temperatures of around 45° F didn't make this contest very spectator-friendly, either.

The Eagles scored first off starter Oliver Labhart as Rodolfo Vargas' RBI-single pushed Dario D'Angelo across home plate with an unearned run.

But the Challengers were able to quickly end the inning on a 4-6-3 double play.

With their bats, they produced four runs on four hits and one error in the bottom half of the inning, quickly setting the tone for things to come.

The Eagles though managed to answer those runs by scoring three more unearned runs.

Toni Gerig led off and reached on an error by first baseman Adrian Kämpfer">Adrian Kämpfer.

Mark Fehlmann followed with a ground-rule double before Labhart managed to retire Oliver Holenstein and Müller.

But the next four batters all reached on consecutive singles, tying the score at four apiece.

But the Challengers quickly retook the lead as Nick Lehmann's RBI-double scored Ramon Perez from third base.

After that, Labhart (2-0) shut out the Eagles in the next two innings, while his offense provided him with an 11-4 lead. Three errors and three hits in the third and fourth innings put six runs on the board for the Challengers.

In the top of the fifth inning, it looked as Labhart would be able to put up another zero, but Holenstein's fly ball to the fence in left center field gave the Challengers some trouble.

Center fielder Lehmann leaped for the ball, but couldn't catch it, letting the ball bounce off the fence right on to his cheek, leaving a bloody gash on his face.

He was taken to the hospital where the wound was closed with three stitches, and he was replaced on the field by rookie Wilson Santos.

The dropped fly ball was ruled a single and brought home both Rene Plüss and Fehlmann to narrow the Challengers' lead to 11-6.

The final two innings were pitched by player coach Anthony Bennett. He allowed just two more hits and one base-on-balls the rest of the game, sealing the win for the Challengers.

Game notes
Blank set a new career-high by scoring three runs. ...11 years ago on the day, on May 7 1994, the Challengers beat the Eagles 12-2. Only Saentis Zeller from that team has also played in today's game.