by John Baum
Taking the mound in the deciding game for the Flyers was 19-year old rookie Lukas Croton, who continues to establish himself as one of the premier starters in the NLA. Croton (5-0, 3 saves, 1.84 regular season) who started the season in the NLB division, was making his third start of the series for Therwil. He would once again put his team in great position to win the game. In the semi-final series, Croton hurled 19 innings and posted a 2.84 ERA while throwing three quality starts (six innings or more, three earned runs or less) and picking up a win. On the other side of the hill, Challengers veteran Tobias Siegrist was tapped to make his second start of the series. Siegrist was tagged with the loss in game one, and had not pitched since the opening game.
The Flyers would jump all over Siegrist in the 2nd inning. Player/manager Sam Faeder, right fielder Chris Blackbee, and DH Michael LaTorre led off the inning with hits to load the bases for Jung. The Flyers second baseman delivered a sacrifice fly and Faeder scored the first run of the game. Sebastian Zwyer followed with an RBI single, and after Taka Oshima grounded out, centerfielder Reto Siegel ripped a towering blast into right field. It appeared the ball would clear the fence for a three-run home run, but the ball struck the very top of the 15 meter wall and bounced back into play for a ground rule double. Stefan Koller followed with a double of his own to knock in Siegel, and the Flyers had a 5-0 advantage.
After the second inning, Siegrist would settle into a grove and not allow a run for six innings. In the 5th, the Challengers put 3 runs on the board. Three out of four batters put fly balls over the short ground-rule double fence in centerfield, and the Therwil lead was cut to 2 runs. Stefan Koller relieved Croton for the seventh. Koller, a Flyers starter who did not see any time out of the bullpen this season, retired the side in order. In the 8th however, the Challengers put runners on first and second with two outs. Jesus Martinez laced an RBI single to leftfield, scoring a run. The throw home from left fielder LaTorre skipped off of cutoff man Zwyer’s glove. Faeder dove to try and keep the ball from rolling out of play, but the deflected throw was a breath away from his outstretched mitt. With the ball out of the field, the runners were awarded two bases, and the tying run came in. Yonimilier Martinez completed the rally with a double to left field, and suddenly the Flyers were facing a 6-5 deficit.
The Flyers went quietly in the 8th inning. Closer Adrian Kaufmann came out to keep the Challengers off the board in the 9th inning. After a leadoff single to Zurich pinch hitter Carlos Pena, Von Berg advanced him to second on a bunt, and Pena moved to third on a groundout to shortstop Oshima. Oshima charged the slow hit ball by Zurich player/manager James Sanders, fielded without breaking stride, and fired a strike to first baseman Daniel Eichenberger. After a walk and uncontested steal, Kaufmann got Thomas Huston to ground out with runners on 2nd and 3rd.
In the bottom of the ninth, Therwil stared directly at the end of their season. Trailing by a run with three outs to play, Jung led off with a single into right field. Sebastian Zwyer moved him to second, and the Flyers had the tying run in scoring position. Oshima then ripped a hard ground ball to Zurich shortstop Ueli Von Berg. With Oshima, one of the fastest Flyers, racing down the line, Von Berg rushed a throw and the ball sailed over first base. Jung moved to third, and Therwil was 90 feet away from forcing extra innings. Reto Siegel, the all-time leading Swiss hitter who has battled injuries and a shorted season this year, came through with clutch sacrifice fly into left field. Jung came home with the tying run, and the score was tied at 6. The game almost ended with the next batter, as Koller ripped a laser into right center field. However, Zurich center fielder Tom Landis tracked the line drive down with a running catch to force extra innings.
Jung led off the 11th with a laser line drive single into right field. Sebastian Zwyer stepped up to the plate, ready to be the hero. He hit the first pitch he saw into the gap in right center field. The outfield was playing Zwyer shallow, and Jung raced around the bases. With his teammates and the Flyers fans going wild, Jung flew around to score all the way from first base and was mobbed in celebration.
Matthias Jung led the Flyers with his best game of the season, going 3-4 with an RBI and two runs scored; the two runs scored were the tying and winning runs in the 9th and 11th innings. He led off both innings with hits. Jung also made several sparkling defensive plays in the field.
On offense, Reto Siegel and Sebastian Zwyer, who moved positions in the batting order before game 5, would deliver a combined 3-8 with 2 runs and 4 RBI’s for the Flyers in game 5. Siegel drove in the game tying run in the 9th and Zwyer the game winner in the 11th. In the series, Faeder led the Flyers with a .458 batting average (11-24) He scored 4 runs and had 4 RBIs. Zwyer hit .363 (8-22) with 5 runs and 4 RBI, while Stefan Koller clipped the Challengers at a .347 pace (8-23) with 4 runs and 5 RBI. Koller also picked up a win on the mound, throwing 7 shutout innings while allowing only 2 hits in game 3. Jung hit .333 (7-21) with 4 runs and 4 RBI and Daniel Eichenberger ripped 2 home runs and had 5 RBI for Therwil.
Game one of the NLA Grand Finals is Saturday, October 3rd, at 2pm at K1 park in Therwil.
