Byrne strikes out 18 in 8-1 win over Cards

Ryan Byrne and his Challengers were in full control of the Bern Cardinals in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader as he and his team cruised to an 8-1 victory in which he struck out a season-high 18 batters.

Byrne's counterpart Tobias Imboden allowed eight runs - half of them earned – on 13 hits, both season highs.

But Byrne also led his offense by going 3-for-4 and two RBIs, while Robert Sedin contributed with three hits, and both Eidrys Reyes and James Sanders added two hits apiece in a 13-hit effort.

Reyes' two-run single in the first inning contributed to the only runs on the board for five innings as Byrne and Imboden exchanged zeros. Byrne struck out the side in the first and third innings and recorded at least one strike out in every one of his nine innings pitched.

In the bottom half of the sixth, Cardinals coach Ernesto Perreira chose to walk Sedin intentionally to load the bases with two outs, but Byrne followed with a single through the right side that extended the Challengers' lead to 4-0. Third baseman Marc Oboussier's throwing error on Reyes' grounder pushed across one more runner, and the Challengers were cruising.

In the seventh frame, the Challengers put up three more runs on Saentis Zeller's run-scoring fielder's choice, an error by shortstop Raciel Rodriguez and Sedin's RBI-double.

After that, the game was basically over, but the Cardinals mounted one more threat. In the top of the ninth, Byrne walked two and surrendered a single to load the bases with no outs. But he finished the game in style, striking out the next three batters to end the game.

Game notes
Sedin's steal in the third inning was his 50th in his third season with the Challengers. …Byrne's Game Score of 91 ranks as second best game pitched ever by a Challenger. It only trails Sedin's 20-strikeout performance versus the Zürich Lions from June 27, 2013.