Mustangs dominate Challengers on the basepaths and on the field, win 9-4

The Embrach Mustangs, sporting a new look and a new team name, played their old-fashioned small ball to up the Challengers 9-4 in Saturday's first contest.

Roger Savoldelli went the distance and rarely ever ran into big trouble, retiring 11 consecutive batters at one point.

Thomas Burger picked up his second loss of the season in his first complete game effort since June 7, 2008. He allowed six earned runs on seven hits, seven walks and three hit-by-pitches, while also striking out two.

The Mustangs ran wild on him as they combined for nine stolen bases, erasing a measly 3-for-19 performance with runners in scoring position.

The Challengers, on the other hand, made life for themselves hard as they had four throwing errors in the infield, leading to three runs being unearned.

Bryan Shemley and Tobias Siegrist were the only Challengers with multiple hits, contributing to four of the total six hits off Savoldelli.

Kevin Small of the Mustangs received four walks, scoring a game-high three runs.

The Challengers scored their first runs in the sixth inning, by which time the Mustangs were already leading 7-0. Brian Hipps plated Shemley with a sac fly to center, and Siegrist came around to score on a fielding error by Savoldelli.

Two more runs in the eighth and ninth innings weren't enough as the Mustangs stacked on two more runs against Burger in the eighth inning on Fasching's two-run double.

Game notes
Rookie Yanik Probst went 0-for-5 with one strikeout in his first game as a member of the NLA-team.