Eagles spoil Challengers home opener

The Challengers lost their season opener 9-3 against the Lucerne Eagles, wasting too many chances on the bases and getting a shaky start from Thomas Burger.

One big inning, in which the Eagles scored five times on just one hit, was all it took as the Challengers' offense also struggled against former Challenger Andrea Girasole.

He went the distance, striking out four and walking just one en route to his second win of the season.

Sammy Paulino sparked the offense with three hits, an RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Jesus Martinez collected three of the Challengers' 10 hits, and Saentis Zeller and Bryan Shemley added two hits each.

The Challengers opened the score on Shemley's RBI-double and a run-scoring ground out by Santos Holguin.

But the Eagles answered right away and profited from five walks and a hit-by-pitch by Burger to go up 5-2.

After Tobias Siegrist relieved Burger in the top of the fourth, the next three innings went by scoreless, and the Challengers cut the Eagles' lead to two by scoring on two hits and a wild pitch by Girasole on an intentional pass to Clayton Carson.

But again, the Eagles scored three times in the next inning. An error, two consecutive doubles by Paulino and Alex Cruz Tifa and a wild pitch by Siegrist extended the Eagles' lead to 8-3, to which the Challengers didn't have an answer.

Game notes
James Sanders got hit by a pitch in the first inning. X-rays showed a double fracture of his lower arm that will sideline him for 6 to 8 weeks. ...Martinez recently had 3 hits in a game on Aug. 11, 12.