by John Baum
Cards and Flyers battle to a split in Bern…weather shortens second game
In game one, Chris Beyeler took a shutout into the last inning, only to have it spoiled by a two-out flair to center which scored two runs. Along the way, Beyeler allowed just eight hits and those two earned runs. Stefan Koller starting pitcher for the Flyers (21-5) was able to do the same to the Cards (19-6) for the first two innings before the home team broke out for four runs in the third inning. Ronnie Zimmermann led the inning off with a single, followed by a fantastic at-bat from Fabrizio Pessina, who worked a nine-pitch walk. After a Vitus Huber sac bunt, Raphael Hanzi got the Cardinals on the board with a single to right. Fabrizio Pessina would then score on a double steal, leaving Hanzi at second base with one out. The next batter, John Baum would connect on a run scoring double, pushing the score to 3-0. Johnny Perigos singled, sending Baum to third base; Samuel Paulino followed with an RBI single which would end the scoring for the inning.
The home team extended the lead in the seventh inning, scoring three more times. Zimmermann once again sparked the offense with a leadoff hit, this time a double down the right field line. Pessina once again did his job, this time advancing the runner to third with a two strike ground out to first base. Huber then knocked in Zimmermann with a triple over the head of the right fielder, giving the Bern boys a 5-0 cushion. They were not done there though as Hanzi and Perigos would both have RBI singles, making the score at the end of seven innings, 7-0. Two more runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by Ronnie Zimmermann’s second double, and third hit of the game, helping to give his team a 9-2 win.
Game two featured a wonderful pitcher duel between John Baum of the Cardinals, and Lukas Croton of the Flyers. Lukas, one of the up and coming young Swiss pitchers, would get the best of Baum and his team on this day. Croton shut out the hard hitting Bern team over the six inning game, working out of tough situations, most notably a bases-loaded one-out jam, in which he would strike Baum out, and induced an inning ending 1-3 ground out. Baum held the Flyers in check as well, allowing only three hits in the game, The winning run scored on a bases loaded, no out slow roller to third that the Cards were forced to go to first to record the out.
The win in game two, keeps the Flyers in first place in the NLA. The Cards fall into a second place tie with the Lausanne Indians. All other games in Switzerland were canceled due to rain. Game two between the Cardinals and Flyers was called due to heavy rain before the seventh and last inning could start.
| Time | Home | Visitor | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, August 02 2009 | ||||
 |
11:00 | Bern Cardinals | Therwil Flyers | 09:02 |
|
14:00 | Bern Cardinals | Therwil Flyers | 00:01 |
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | R+ | R- | .pct | GB | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Therwil Flyers | 23 | 5 | 218 | 91 | .821 | 0 | W3 |
| 2 | Lausanne Indians | 22 | 6 | 247 | 156 | .785 | 1 | W9 |
| 3 | Bern Cardinals | 21 | 7 | 251 | 112 | .750 | 2 | L1 |
| 4 | Zürich Challengers | 15 | 13 | 266 | 216 | .535 | 8 | L2 |
| 5 | Embrach Rainbows | 13 | 15 | 167 | 171 | .464 | 10 | W2 |
| 6 | Zürich Barracudas | 12 | 16 | 158 | 164 | .428 | 11 | W2 |
| 7 | Sissach Frogs | 5 | 23 | 151 | 276 | .178 | 18 | L2 |
| 8 | Reussbühl Eagles | 1 | 27 | 76 | 348 | .035 | 22 | L23 |
