Mister Baseball

by John Baum

CARDS STRUGGLE TO FIND OFFENSE IN SPLIT VERSUS FLYERS
Pitching was the main theme in this weekend’s matchup of one vs. two as the Cards and Flyers were able to score only nine total runs in the doubleheader played Sunday in Bern. Game one saw Severin Fries shut out the first-place Flyers, allowing only four hits in the game. Stefan Koller was on the hill for the Therwil Flyers, and was on top of his game for the most part, allowing only two earned runs and five hits. Unfortunately for Stefan, his defense was of no help, committing five errors, three costing the team runs. The only mistakes Koller made on the day was, allowing two homeruns off the bat of John Baum, both of them being solo shots. Severin Fries was dominant in his first complete game victory of the season, not allowing a Flyer base runner to reach third base. Helping the Cards came out on top, 5-0!

Game two featured another great pitchers duel between the Cards Chris Beyeler, and the Flyers Adi Kaufmann. Beyeler dominated through the first five innings, allowing a single hit, and one unearned run, while picking up his defense after costly errors. Kaufmann, who would eventually pitch a two-hitter, was brilliant on the hill for the Flyers. The young right-hander struck out twelve Cardinals in route to the complete game win! The lone run came on a throwing error from first baseman Dan Eichenberger. Beyeler ran into a bit of trouble in the sixth, he issued a leadoff walk to Reto Siegel, a stolen base, and a run scoring single from Eichenberger, and his day was over. Baum replaced him on the hill, with a runner on second, no outs, with a score of 2-1. After Nelson Vilomar moved the runner to third on a ground ball, Baum recorded a big strikeout, to give his team two outs. The next batter hit an easy ground ball to first that was mishandled, and allowed the Flyers third run to score. The Cardinals threatened in the seventh. Tobias Imboden, the leadoff hitter, was hit by a pitch, but the team was unable to score him, giving the Flyers a 3-1 victory. The win for the Flyers likely locks up the regular season title. The game one victory puts the Cardinals in the playoffs once again.

Chris Beyeler’s winning streak unfortunately was stopped at 22 games in a row! Chris looks forward to beginning a new streak! The Cards travel to Embrach next weekend to play in the Swiss Cup semi-finals versus the Zurich Barracudas on Saturday. Thanks for the support in the bad weather; we look forward to seeing you out at the field as we continue the season in two weeks against the Barracudas at the Allmend!

LAUSANNE INDIANS END CHALLENGERS PLAYOFF RUN AT 13 YEARS, MAKE PLAYOFFS FOR FIRST TIME IN CLUB HISTORY!
The Lausanne Indians (11-7) swept the Challengers (9-11) this weekend to secure a playoff spot. The Challengers couldn’t overcome a slow start to the season, and have seen their playoff hopes dashed in two competitive games. Game one was what you’d expect, a slugfest. A combined 29 hits and 22 runs led to a final score of 12-10 for the Indians. Thomas Burger was ineffective on the mound for the C’s, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits in three innings. Nicolas Jaquemet was taking his knocks also for the Indians, five and a third innings, eight earned runs on twelve hits. In this game however, that would be good enough for the win. Jaquemet also returned to the mound to record the save, pitching the last two innings, giving up only one earned run. James Sanders led the offensive attack for the Challengers, recording four hits in six at bats with two doubles and a homerun. Jay Casimiro had four hits and Alexei Ramirez smacked three doubles to the lead the charge for the Indians.

In Game two, the Challengers could still stay level with the Indians with a win. They sent their ace playing coach, James Sanders to the mound, with their season on the line. He would not disappoint, as James pitched a complete game six hitter, allowing one earned run and three overall. Unfortunately for himself and his team, Alexei Ramirez was just better. The Indian pitcher, more known for his bat, pitched a gem of a game! He gave up only four hits, while striking out five for the complete game win! He helped his own cause at the plate, launching a homerun in three at bats. The 3-1 win secured the first ever playoff appearance for the Lausanne Indians. Congratulations to them, and to the Challengers, whose unequaled run of 13 straight playoff appearances comes to an end.

BARRAUDAS TAKE CARE OF DEVILS…. MAKE THE PLAYOFF FOR THE 6HT STRAIGHT SEASON!
The Zurich Barracudas (11-6) find themselves where they have the last five years, in the playoffs and looking to win a title. They easily beat the hard fighting Wil Devils (6-14), 11-0, and 17-3. The first game was all about pitching for the Barracudas as Nderim Coma and Jeff Mottl combined for the shutout. Coma worked five solid innings before handing the ball to Mottl to finish up. Jeff would run into trouble, working out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth. J.T. Schroeder hit his fourth homer of the season to give the ‘Cudas a 3-0 advantage. It would stay this was until the seventh, when the Barracudas would score in the last three innings, pushing the final to a lopsided 11-0!

In game two, the Barracudas fell behind early, as starting pitcher Frank Berchtold was having control problems, allowing three Devils to score in the first. This would be the only problem for the ‘Cudas pitchers all day, as those were the only runs they would surrender. The Barracudas banged starter Josh Crouse around, knocking the Devils starting pitcher out of the game after just four innings. The big hit came off the bat of Chico Colindres, who sent a ball out over the centerfield fence. Berchtold, who settled in after his rough first inning, went five strong innings, giving the ball to Schroeder to finish the game off in the sixth inning via the run rule. The wins keep the Zurich team in third place, one half of a game in front of the charging Indians. The Devils finish a successful season after their promotion with a 6-14 record, and look to be safe from relegation.

Standings 1

Standings 2