Challengers even Series with convincing 9-5 win

James Sanders dominated the Therwil Flyers over eight innings in Game 2 of the Playoff Semifinals en route to a 9-5 victory.

Needing to win this game to avoid a 0-2 deficit in the Best-of-5 Series, the Challengers showed their best side, outhitting the Flyers 13-10 to back up Sanders' performance.

He threw eight innings, giving up only two runs - one of them unearned - on eight hits, also striking out six.

Tobias Siegrist came through with three hits, three RBI's and two runs after an 0-for-4 performance in Game 1.

Jesus Martinez hit two doubles, and Sanders added two singles in four trips to the plate to help his own cause.

Just like in Game 1, the two teams exchanged zeros through the first two innings. The Flyers struck first, again, as Reto Siegel's single plated Daniel Eichenberger from second with an unearned run.

The Challengers responded with three runs of their own. Sanders and Siegrist hit back-to-back RBI-singles, and a wild pitch by Chris Blackbee gave the Challengers a 3-1 lead after three frames.

In the fourth, the Flyers got one run back on Seppi Zwyer's RBI-single, but that was all the Flyers managed to put together against Sanders.

The score remained 3-2 until the seventh, before the Challengers got to Blackbee and chased him off the mound after five consecutive batters reached on two singles, two doubles and a walk.

Stefan Koller, eventually held out because of a sore shoulder, took over with the bases loaded, and managed to retire Carlos Peña on a 1-2 come-backer to the mound before striking out Angel Maduro to end the threat.

But the damage was done by then, with the Challengers holding on to a 9-2 lead.

Yonimiler Martinez took over on the mound to close out the game, but it didn't happen that easily.

Lead-off batter Michel LaTorre reached on shortstop Ueli von Burg's throwing error, and with one out, Zwyer was issued a walk, and Koller's RBI-single plated LaTorre.

Slugger Eichenberger grounded out for the second out, but heavy-hitting player coach Sam Faeder ripped a two-run single up the middle to bring his team within four runs.

But Martinez ended the game in big fashion, striking out veteran Siegel.

The Series has now become a Best-of-3 affair, and it already has the making of another classic Challengers-Flyers Playoff match-up.

Game notes
Siegrist set a new career-high with 47 hits in a season. ...Sanders' Game Score of 66 was the second-best pitching performance this year by a member of the Challengers' staff. ...Jesus Martinez' double in the seventh inning was initially called a home run, but the umpires reviewed the play and ruled it a ground rule double.