Challengers rally for double mercy rule win

In the second game of the day, the Challengers finally got their first win in a championship game since beating the Zürich Lions on August 17 last year.

It was Willy Schaub who broke an eight-game losing streak for the team by pitching a complete game five-hitter.

Things didn't start too well though for Schaub as he faced all nine batters in the first inning, giving up four hits, three walks and four runs.

But he soon recovered and got hit only by three more batters for the rest of the game.

With nine strikeouts in ten innings of his first two outings and a 5.40 ERA, he looks like the team's no. 1 pitcher at the moment.

After his mediocre start, Schaub was backed by his offense throughout the whole game.

Led by Oliver Labhart, who went 5-for-5 with four doubles and leading the team now in average (.647) and doubles (9), the top five spots of the line-up combined for a total of each 17 hits, runs and RBI's.

Chris Hardy got his team on the scoreboard by driving the ball deep into the center-field trees for a three-run shot in the bottom of the first.

But the big Challengers rally wouldn't start until the third inning.

Remo Wicki, the only present Uzwil Helvetics pitcher got two fast outs in his 10th inning of the day, but then the Challengers jumped on him.

He faced the Challengers line-up more than twice that inning and had to watch 14 opponents cross the plate, 11 of them unearned after a throwing error by his third baseman.

The rally also started the production of the bottom of the Challengers' line-up: Schaub and Oliver Marty collected RBI-hits.

In unfriendly and cold weather conditions with constant light rain, the Challengers hoped to cut the game short on the double-mercy rule by scoring five more runs in the bottom of the fifth.

When Schaub struck out with the bases loaded for the second out, this hope started to decrease.

But young relief player Werner Stoller tomahawked in two runs, and Roger Burger again loaded the bases with his single.

Manuel Schretzmann drove in another two and catcher Adrian Kämpfer">Adrian Kämpfer stepped to the plate. He hit a routine fly ball to right which was messed up by Uzwil's Zürcher, enabling Burger to score the game-ending run.