Challengers chanceless against Devils

Nine errors were too much to overcome for starter Claudio Deck and his offense against a light-hitting Wil Devils squad.

	Claudio Deck lasted only 3 1-3 innings in his third start of the season.

10 of the 15 runs allowed by Claudio Deck and reliever Orlando Balbuena were unearned as the Devils capitalized on a sloppy Challengers defensive performance.

Balbuena alone had three errors and also had just one hit in four at-bats, dropping his batting average to .368.

Adrian Kämpfer">Adrian Kämpfer led all Challengers with a game-high and career-high three hits. But he also muffed two balls at first base after two dropped third strikes in the third inning.

After the Devils had built up a 6-2 after three innings, they exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fourth on five hits and two errors that blew the game wide open.

	Oliver Labhart scored a team-high two runs and kept his batting average at a soaring .778 mark with two hits.

The Challengers responded with three runs in the top of the fifth inning as Oliver Labhart received a bases-loaded walk, Thomas Blank hit a sac fly, and Balbuena drove in one more run with an RBI-double.

But after Balbuena blanked the Devils in the bottom of the fifth inning, they came right back by scoring four unearned runs that gave them a commanding 15-5 lead. Shortstop Claudio Deck and center fielder Thomas Blank both had an error, and the Devils capitalized by following with a two-run single by Löpfe and a double by Ruckstuhl.

The Challengers managed to get three runs back off starter Thomas Beier in the seventh and final inning, but it was too little to overcome the strong offensive performance by the Devils.

The game was played under extreme conditions with temperatures just slightly above zero degrees, giving all players on the benches and coaches a tough time to accompany the game.