Challengers lose on bad inning, again

The NLB-Team would have beaten the Therwil Flyers in game 1 of Saturday's double header, if it would not have been for the fourth inning.

For the second time in a row after losing 16-1 to the Zürich Lions, the Challengers surrendered more than 9 runs in one inning. And for the second time after the 6-4 loss to the Thun Hunters, one bad inning decided the game against them.

The C's had built up a 5-1 lead in the first three frames with RBI-contributions by Kurt Kovac, Yanik Probst and Adrian Kämpfer">Adrian Kämpfer. They added one last run in the seventh when Probst's sacrifice fly plated Kurt.

But in the fourth inning, starting pitcher Oliver Christen failed to retire six batters, and reliever Kämpfer could not record an out for another four batters.

When Dean Scherbaum, the third pitcher in the inning, stopped the bleeding, the game was decided, as the Challengers offense was controlled by a strong Hide Oshima.

Oshima struck out 14 Challengers but recorded not all of them as outs. Probst, Willy Schaub and Alex Gordon got aboard after passed balls, with Probst and Schaub scoring a run afterwards.