Challengers outslug Devils 18-13

It took the Challengers a long time until they could get going, but then sealed an 18-13 victory in Game 1 of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Devils in Wil.

After a layoff of seven weeks due to unfortunate scheduling and two rainouts, the Challengers finally managed to get their first win of the season after dropping the season-opening doubleheader against the Therwil Flyers on April 2.

Tobias Siegrist pitched six innings for the win, allowing six runs – two of them earned – on 10 hits and two walks, while also striking out six.

Player coach Robert Sedin went 5-for-6 with three RBIs and four runs scored in his 2016 debut, Gabriel Holguin went 4-for-5 with five RBIs, and James Sanders contributed with three hits and three RBIs in the Challengers’ 21-hit output.

The Challengers first three runs were erased by the Devils’ five runs in the bottom of the third inning, three of them coming on Manuel Keller’s three-run homer.

But the Challengers came soaring back in the fifth inning, scoring five runs with two outs on five hits for an 8-5 lead.

They further extended their lead into the eighth inning to 11-6, but the Devils refused to give up and came back with three runs – two of them unearned - off reliever Chris Palatinus to cut the Challengers’ lead to 11-9.

But the Challengers blew the game wide open in the top of the ninth by sending 13 batters to the plate, scoring 7 runs for an 18-9 lead. Holguin’s three-run single capped the inning.

After Palatinus walked the first four batters to lead off the bottom half of the ninth, Thomas Burger came on to close out the game. He did so, but not before letting all three inherited runners to score for the final score of 18-13.

Game notes
Sanders collected his 50th RBI with the Challengers in the NLA with a two-run double in the fifth. …Siegrist passed Palatinus for second place on the alltime list for runs scored by getting his 411th run in the ninth inning. His walk in the ninth inning was his 250th of his NLA career. …The last time the Challengers combined for 21 hits or more was on July 28, 2007 against the Embrach Rainbows with 22.