Challengers 8, Devils 7

The NLB-team managed to score two runs in the top of the seventh and hold on for an 8-7 victory over the favorites Wil Devils in Game 1 in Sunday's doubleheader.

Starter Benny Räber pitched a superb game en route to his first win of the season. He gave up five earned runs on 10 hits and five walks while tying a season-high by striking out 11 batters.

Benny Räber pitched a complete game by striking out 11 and earning his first win of the season.

The offense was lacking the usual support as some of the starters were absent for the game.

The Devils were first to score in the bottom of the first, but Oli Christen tied it up in the next inning with his first ever career homer.

The Devils, though, came right back in their half of the inning and scored twice on two doubles and a base-on-balls.

After no runs were scored in the third, batting leader Stefan Eisenring tied the game again at 3-3 in the top of the fourth with a two-run single that scored Urs Blickenstorfer and Christen.

The Challengers then went ahead for the first time on Patrick Zöllig's two-run single in the top of the fifth.

But once again, the Devils tied it at 5-5 on Beier's two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.

After both teams scored one run apiece in the sixth, the seventh and last inning started with a solo homer by Tobias Siegrist. And Blickenstorfer also scored after he got on with a single and profited from a fielding error by shortstop Isenring.

And that run turned out to be the pivotal run, because the Devils managed to come back once again on a base-on-balls, a double and a run-scoring groundout by Isenring.

Räber retired Hadler on a lazy popup to the shortstop for the second out and then intentionally walked Terenczy to load the bases. And the move paid off as Haltiner popped out to Räber for the final out and the final score of 8-7 in favor of the Challengers.