Cards one win away from third title

The Challengers' most terrible game came at the worst moment.

11 errors against the reigning Swiss Champion Bern Cardinals is what buried the Challengers in Game 2's devastating 21-4 defeat.

These errors made only three of the Cardinals' runs earned.

Just like in Game 1, the Challengers scored first as Tobias Siegrist hit an RBI-double off Christoph Beyeler in the first inning.

The Cardinals got back in the third inning, helped by three errors.

With two outs and no runners on, rarely-used right fielder Manuel Schretzmann overran Raphael Hänzi's pop fly in foul territory which could have been the final out of the inning.

But Hänzi later reached on a base-on-balls, and three hits later, the Cards were up 3-1.

Center fielder Thomas Landis' second error of the inning on Samuel Paulino's hard-hit line drive pushed another run across the plate, and Adrian Kämpfer">Adrian Kämpfer misplayed shortstop Saentis Zeller's throw for another unearned run and a 5-1 Cardinal lead.

Two errors and three unearned runs later, Landis relieved Harry Bregy on the mound with no outs in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, he got the first two outs on a fielder's choice and a sac fly, but surrendered Martin Gygax's two-run single, letting two of the inherited runners score for a 9-1 Cardinal lead.

Siegrist's RBI-single in the bottom half of the inning was all the Challengers were able to produce off Beyeler. With the bases loaded, Bryan Shemley grounded out to end the threat.

In the sixth inning, the Challengers' wheels fell off. The Cardinals sent 17 batters to the plate, profiting from four errors in the infield.

Landis was yanked after hitting three batters, but reliever Thomas Burger didn't fare much better. With two outs, it took him and his defense nine more batters before finally making the third out.

In the end, only three of those 11 runs scored were earned.

The Challengers have to rethink their approach for Game 3 if they want to prolong this season. So far, they have left too many opportunities pass by, and the defense never looked as bad as now.

Game notes
Siegrist's double in the first inning was his 100th in the NLA. ...Zöllig set a new career season-high with 90 at-bats. ...It was already the third time this season that the Challengers committed 11 errors in one game.