Challengers take Series opener 9-4

After losing all four games in the regular season against the Bern Cardinals and the previous 10 in the Playoffs dating back to 2003, the Challengers displayed a strong performance at the plate and on the mound.

Tobias Siegrist pitched eight formidable innings, and both Eidrys Reyes and Robert Sedin had four hits en route to a 9-4 win in Game 1 of their Best-of-5 Playoff Semifinals.

Sedin broke his 0-for-9 skid at the plate with two singles, a double and a triple, and Reyes raised his team-leading batting average to .500.

Saentis Zeller and Francisco Colindres added three RBI each, and starter Ryan Byrne was gone after just 5 2-3 innings.

The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of he first inning on three singles and a throwing error by shortstop Reyes. But after that, Siegrist settled down.

In the meantime, his offense came alive in the top of the third: Thomas Burger led off by drawing a walk, and eventually scored on Zeller's run-scoring ground out to second.

Sedin followed with an RBI-single that plated Reyes to tie the game at 2-2.

But in the bottom half of the inning, the Cardinals scored an unearned run to retake the lead at 3-2. Reyes couldn't handle catcher Sedin's pickoff attempt at second, enabling Byrne to reach third and later score on Albert Marsknik's ground out to first.

The Challengers came storming back in the top of the fourth and sent eight batters to the plate, scoring four times with two outs. Harry Bregy, Reyes and Zeller hit three straight singles, and Sedin capped the inning with his third triple of the season, giving his team a solid 6-3 lead.

Siegrist continued to mow down opposing batters, retiring 12 consecutive batters in a row from the third through the seventh innings.

The Challengers extended their lead by scoring two more times with two outs on three singles in the sixth inning off Byrne. That made his day and in came Tobias Imboden to relieve.

Imboden allowed just one more run in the remaining 3 1-3 innings, but the damage was done.

The Cardinals were able to score one more time in the bottom of the eight to cut the lead to 9-4.

Andrea Girasole pitched the ninth inning, giving up a single and a walk before retiring pinch-hitter Miro Bussmann on three strikes and Samy Paulino on a fielder's choice to shortstop.

Game 2 will be at the Heerenschuerli in Zurich on September 28, followed by Game 3 again in Bern on September 29.

Game notes
Reyes is batting .684 against the Cardinals this season, the best mark against any opponent. ...Sedin tied his own franchise single-season record for triples with 3. ...Siegrist's fifth career win against the Cardinals is the most against any NLA-team. It was his 25th win overall of his career. In his six starts this season, Siegrist gave up only two walks in 41 innings. ...The Cardinals went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. ...Seven of the Challengers' nine runs came with two outs. ..The loss was the first for Byrne against the Challengers. He is 5-1 lifetime.