Rookie grand slam gives Challengers 15-9 win over Devils

The Challengers started the Promotion Round with a convincing win against the Wil Devils in what is a mission impossible.

	Rookie Richi Ammann got his first two career hits, the second of them a grand slam homer in the sixth inning.

The Challengers won 15-9 behind an incredible offensive display that saw 12 hits, of which five went for extra bases.

Rookie Richi Ammann hit the most extraordinary one as he connected for his first career homer in the sixth inning, a grand slam homer that gave his team an unsurmountable 12-7 lead.

He collected his first career hit in the fourth inning when he hit an RBI-single and later went on to score the tying run.

Chris Hardy hit the only two doubles for the Challengers plus a homer, and Thomas Blank also connected for his team-leading third blast of the year.

Blank now is the leader in career homers with 10.

The Challengers overcame an early start by the Devils and trailed 3-0 after 3 1/2 innings, but a run-scoring ground out by Oliver Marty, Ammann's RBI-single and a two-run homer by Hardy gave the Challengers a 4-3 lead.

	Oli Labhart pitched five innings but wound up with a no-decision.

But the Devils reclaimed the lead by scoring three runs off starter Oliver Labhart in the next inning for a 6-4 lead.

After the Challengers came within 6-5 on Willy Schaub's RBI-single in the bottom of the fifth, reliever Orlando Balbuena gave up another run to the Devils, but then the Challengers' offense erupted.

They sent 15 batters to the plate against relievers Studerus and Rüegg.

Balbuena (1-1) was credited with the win by pitching two innings in relief, giving up three runs - two of them unearned - on two hits and three walks while also striking out one batter.

	Chris Hardy collected two doubles and a homer and now has a team-leading .621 batting average.

Baserunning was also a key factor in the game as the two teams combined for a total of 20 steals. Catcher Adrian Kämpfer">Adrian Kämpfer had three passed balls and three throwing errors, but he reached base on all five occasions as he was walked four times and hit by a pitch once to score two runs.

The Challengers had seven errors in total, the highest number since committing nine against the Devils on May 5 in a 15-8 loss.

The only problem of the team is that they will not be able to promote, even if the team finishes first in the Promotion Round. The Challengers already have a successful team in the NLA, and no organization is allowed to have two teams competing in the same league.

But the team nevertheless shows great enthusiasm and a winning spirit, trying to finish the season in the best possible way.