Challengers, Brunner dominate Lions 18-3

After a 13-year break, Roger Brunner gets another win in the NLB.

Brunner dominated the Zurich Lions in an 18-3 win, throwing four innings in which he allowed only three runs on five hits and three walks while also striking out five.

He picked up his first NLB-win since 1993 when he went 7-2.

The Challengers gave him a huge 9-0 cushion after just 1 1/2 innings as they went almost twice through the lineup.

Nick Lehmann had a three-run homer and a hit-by-pitch, Manuel Schretzmann even collected two hit-by-pitches, and Yves Huber reached twice with a pair of singles in those first two innings.

Five errors by the Lions also helped the Challengers' cause.

Brunner then shortly lost command of his pitches, giving up two walks, a hit-by-pitch and two singles in the bottom of the second frame. That enabled the Lions to score three times, but that was all they could muster against Brunner.

Meanwhile, the Challengers went on to score nine more unearned runs in the third and fourth innings.

Lehmann's two-run single was the biggest hit of them all as the Challengers took a lot of balls and were walked five times in those innings.

Six more errors also helped to blow away the game, 18-3 in the Challengers' favor.

With that win, the Challengers have now won their fourth straight game after starting the season 0-2.

Game notes
Brunner spent 10 seasons in the NLA from 1994 through 2004 after leaving the NLB-team, collecting 30 wins in 44 starts.