Byrne strikes out 15 in 10-0 shutout of Cardinals

The Challengers ran their winning streak to eight as Ryan Byrne delivered another masterpiece, striking out 15 batters and allowing only two hits in a 10-0 shutout of the Bern Cardinals on Sunday.

The game was called after seven inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Cardinals strater Tobias Imboden retired the first seven batters he faced before walking Thomas Burger in the third. After striking out Harry Bregy for the second out and with first base open, the Cardinals elected to walk Robert Sedin intentionally to face Saentis Zeller. But the move backfired as Zeller came through with a two-run single up the middle.

The Challengers added one run each in the fifth and sixth innings on a sacrifice fly by Sedin and an RBI-single by Jesus Martinez for a 4-0 lead.

The Challengers put the game away in the top of the seventh as Imboden wasn't able to retire any of the seven batters he faced.

Zeller and Eidrys Reyes hit back-to-back doubles and a run-scoring throwing error by third baseman Thierry Burkhardt capped the inning.

The Cardinals couldn't get anything going against Byrne with their biggest threat coming in the fourth inning after John Baum reached thanks to a dropped third strike by Bryan Shemley, and Jhonny Perigos followed with an opposite field ground-rule double to put runners on third and second with no outs.

But Byrne struck out Ernesto Pereira, Imboden and Miro Bussmann to escape the jam.

Byrne struck out 15 in seven innings, giving him 128 strikeouts on the season, seven short of Sedin's single-season record set last season.

Game notes
Zeller's double was his 107th of his NLA-career, tying him with Chris Palatinus for 3rd place on the Challengers all-time list. ... Reyes hit an RBI-double in his final at-bat, keeping his 17-game hitting streak alive. ...Martinez' single in the sixth inning was his 250th total base with the Challengers. ...Byrne hasn't allowed an earned run this season in 19 1-3 innings against his former club. ...With the win, the Challengers swept their season series with the Cardinals 5-0 for the first time since 2000 as they won all six encounters that year en route to their third consecutive Swiss Championship. ...It was the first time the Challengers beat the Cardinals in seven inning due to the mercy rule since September 04, 2004's 11-1 win.