Challengers lose first game of Playouts, 19-11 to Lions

After playing a 3:45 hour marathon in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, the Challengers and Zurich Lions again battled for three hours.

	Reigning MVP Willy Schaub got the loss, but also collected a career-high four RBI's at the plate.

The two teams set the pace in the first inning, as they put up a total of nine runs on the board.

Rookie Thomas Burger gave his debut on the mound for the Challengers, but he was roughed up for five runs as he managed to retire only one of the eight batters he faced.

Willy Schaub, who already pitched four innings in the first contest, went to work over the next 2 2-3 innings, but he gave up nine runs - three of them unearned -, and that was too much for his offense to overcome.

The Challengers outhit the Lions 14-12, but also committed two more errors that proved to be too costly.

Thomas Burger also exceled at the plate, getting three hits in five at-bats to raise his batting average to .308.

Chris Hardy, who already went 4-for-6 in Game 1, added three more hits, including yet another double.

Reigning NLB-MVP Schaub collected a career-high four RBI's, and now needs only four more to tie his career season-high, set last year.

Game notes
Hardy doubled four times in Saturday's doubleheader against the Lions, and now has 12 on the season and his career, moving him already into ninth place on the Challengers' all-time list. ...The Challengers hit eight doubles in Saturday's contest against the Lions, setting a new team record with 57, breaking the old mark of 50 set back in 1998. The team now needs only five total bases to break one of the oldest records. It was set in 1993 with 320 TB's.