Flyers end Challengers' season with 15-5 blowout

The Challengers knew they had to change something in order to force a Game 5 in the Semifinals against the Therwil Flyers.

After losing games 2 and 3 by a combined score of 30-8, their hopes remained on the shoulders of pitcher Tobias Siegrist.

After jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks to back-to-back doubles by Jay Casimiro and Tom Huston, the Challengers' hopes were short-lived as the Flyers sent 13 batters to the plate in the third inning against Siegrist and reliever Yonimiler Martinez, turning the tides in their favor with a 9-4 lead.

In the bottom half of the third inning, player coach Brian Hipps was tossed by first base umpire José Beier after Hipps said some unfriendly words after getting called out an a grounder to first.

That pretty much sealed the deal as the Challengers' bats remained silent for a third straight game.

The Flyers wrapped up the Series with a convincing 15-5 win, getting double-digit wins in each of the last three games.

Game and season notes

Siegrist, who entered the Playoffs with a .407 batting average in the regular season, went 1-for-17 at the plate against the Flyers. His 2 2-3 innings of work were the shortest in his career as a starter. He pitched 107 2-3 innings this season, tying Thomas Landis' mark for most in a single season. His career-high 103 strikeouts are the most since Landis struck out 105 in 2004. He also set career-highs with 6 wins, four losses, 12 games started, five complete games, and an ERA of 4.28. ...Hipps provided the offensive spark as he led the team in batting average (.469), on-base percentage (.547; marking the highest percentage since Anubis Benitez' .549 in 2000), slugging percentage (.667), hits (45), doubles (13), total bases (64) and runs scored. ...Yonimiler Martinez led the team with three homers and 30 RBIs, and he also set career-highs with 31 hits, two triples, five stolen bases, a .392 batting average, a .444 on-base percentage, and a .646 slugging percentage. ...Carlos Peña also set new career-highs in batting average (.302), on-base percentage (.413), slugging percentage (.365) and OPS (.778). ...James Sanders, who missed the entire Playoffs, broke his own ERA single season record with a 1.41 mark in 32 innings pitched. He also set career bests with three complete games and a WHIP of 1.03. ...Ueli Von Burg set career highs with the Challengers with two triples and 17 RBIs. ...Bryan Shemley set a new career high with a .323 batting average. ...Thomas Landis, who is set to retire after this season, led the team with 15 stolen bases, the same total as last year. He also picked up his 99th win of his career on July 18 against the Luzern Eagles. ...Huston, who played his 33rd and final baseball season, went out with a team-leading 2-for-5 performance, including two RBIs and a run scored. ...Chris Palatinus set a new career high with five sacrifices, pushing his franchise-leading career total to 42. ...Jesus Martinez tied Siegrist's record for triples in a season with three. Overall, the Challengers shattered the old team record of five triples in a single season with 13. ...The only other offensive record broken is for sacrifices with 34. ...Pitchingwise, the staff set a new record with 16 losses, and recorded zero saves for the first time since 1996.