Flyers rally from 5-run deficit, win in 10

For the third time in their last five encounters, the Therwil Flyers and Challengers went into over-time to find a winner.

The Flyers won Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader 10-9 thanks to a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning to win the season series 3-1, further minimizing the Challengers' hopes to make this year's Playoffs.

The loss leaves the Challengers at 11-12, half a game behind the Zürich Barracudas for the final spot.

Daniel Eichenberger hit a three-run homer as a late sub, Takanobu Oshima went 3-for-6 with two RBI's, two runs and two steals, while the Challengers got two homers from Yonimiler Martinez and Jesus Martinez, and four singles from Bryan Shemley.

Tobias Siegrist went seven innings, and left with an 8-7 lead. He allowed seven runs on nine hits, two walks, four hit-by-pitches, while also striking out seven.

His offense staked him to an 8-3 lead in the sixth as starter Lukas Croton battled with the steady rain, trying to find his control. He ended up walking four batters, an unusual high number for him.

After walking Ueli Von Burg with the bases loaded, Stefan Koller replaced Croton, but failed to retire any of the next five batters he faced. Shemley hit his fourth single of the game, Siegrist followed with a ground-rule double off the center field fence, and Yonimiler Martinez belted a line-drive homer down the left-field line for a three-run homer.

After that, Siegrist retired the Flyers in order in the bottom half of the inning, and was recalled to start the seventh inning.

With two outs, he hit Ianis Bouteloup with a pitch, Chris Blackbee followed with an RBI-single, and Eichenberger, just substituted in an inning earlier, took Siegrist's first offering deep over the right field fence to cut the Challengers' lead to 8-7.

In the eighth inning, the Flyers loaded the bases against reliever Chris Palatinus, but failed to score a run.

Jesus Martinez' solo homer to deep left gave the Challengers an insurance run going into the bottom half of the ninth inning.

There the Challengers ran out of luck again. With runners at first and third, Emanuel Raouzeos hit a routine pop fly to medium center, and both second baseman Von Burg and center fielder Shemley ran for the ball. Shemley ended up dropping the ball, enabling Blackbee to score from third, but Hideori Oshima was trapped between first and second, enabling Shemley to force him out at second.

Palatinus walked Sebastian Zwyer, and Reto Siegel followed with a shot up the middle. Second baseman Von Burg dove for the ball, got up and made a flip to shortstop Yanik Probst to force Zwyer at second, but base umpire Bruno Hubler called the runner safe, prolonging the inning.

Two pitches later, Raouzeos scored on a wild pitch by Palatinus to tie the score at 9-9.

Koller retired the Challengers in order in the top of the 10th inning, while Palatinus faced a different outcome. He struck out two of the first three batters he faced, but Bouteloup reached by getting hit for the third time in the game, Eichenberger was walked intentionally, and Hideori Oshima also drew a walk to load the bases.

Raouzeos worked the count full, and with the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Palatinus missed the zone and dropped the game, 10-9 in favor of the Flyers.

Game 2 of the doubleheader had to be postponed due to rain and unsafe playing conditions.

Game notes
Shemley's third single in the fifth inning was his 150th hit in the NLA. He tied his career-high for hits in a game an inning later with four. ...The six hit-by-pitches by Siegrist and Palatinus tied the franchise record last achieved against the Barracudas on July 3, 2004.