Challengers eliminated from Playoffs with 3-1 loss to Indians

Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader between the Challengers and the Lausanne Indians evolved into a pitching duel between James Sanders and Ramirez.

With their backs against the wall, the Challengers were forced to win that game to stay in the Playoff hunt.

But the Indians' bats again proved to be more efficient, edging the Challenger 3-1, and eliminating them from the Playoffs for the first time in 13 season.

The Challengers scored first as Jesus Martinez drove in Tobias Siegrist with a single, but the Challengers killed their hopes for more runs as Sanders was caught in a rundown between third and home, trying to score all the way from first base.

The Indians weren't able to get anything going against Sanders, putting three consecutive zeros on the board in the first three innnings.

But so were the Challengers, as they were getting dominated by southpaw Ramirez after that first-inning outburst.

An incredible display of inability to get a defensive play right, the Challengers enabled Jimenez to score on a single, and two consecutive steals and a throwing error in one defensive play.

Luckily, Sanders was on the mound throwing gas, retiring the next seven batters in order.

But Ramirez himself was responsible for taking the lead in the sixth inning as he blasted a solo homer to deep straight center.

Two more errors enabled the Indians to tack on their third run, and that proved to be just enough.

The Challengers didn't have many scoring opportunities, but the ones they had went by unanswered.

With one out in the sixth, they had a runner at second, and in the final inning, they still had the chance to tie the game with two runners on and two outs.

But Carlos Peña grounded out to second to end the game, and the Challengers' hopes of reaching the Playoffs.

The Challengers will play their final regular season doubleheader against the Therwil Flyers on August 31.