by John Baum
Bern Cardinals – Embrach Mustangs 5-7, 2-12
Roger Savoldelli and the Embrach Mustangs shocked the Swiss powerhouse Bern Cardinals on Sunday, winning both ends of the double header; 7-5, and 12-2. Savoldelli‘s complete game effort, working in and out of jams provided by sloppy defense, stole the show. Cards emergency starter Raphael Hanzi, also not supported so well by his defense, worked six solid innings for the Cardinals. Once again the Cards predicted high octane offense struggled to plate runners, allowing the Mustangs to hold onto its early advantage, and take home the game one win.
Game two Tobias Imboden for the Cards, and Josh Crouse for the ‘Stangs matched up on the hill. Imboden ran into early trouble, surrendering three runs in each of the first two innings, creating an early deficit his team could not come back from. Crouse on the other hand worked through some early control issues to finish what he started, completing the game allowing only two hits. The Mustangs celebrated their first ever sweep versus the Cards with a game two, 12-2 victory.
The Cards will travel to Zurich to take on the Challengers on Saturday.
Therwil Flyers – Lausanne Indians 5-0, 20-0
GAME ONE in the two game series between the Therwil Flyers and the Lausanne Indians was a one sided affair. The Flyers dominated from the beginning on both offense and defense. Lukas Croton pitched a complete game shutout (5 innings due to mercy rule) allowing only two hits. Croton pitched extremely efficiently not giving up any walks while striking out five. He was in complete control of the Indians hitters for the entire game. On the other side of the ball, the Flyers offense was unstoppable. Taka Oshima led the Flyers with 5 hits, and Daniel Eichenberger led the team with 5 RBI, including a towering home run to center field
GAME TWO of the series was a much closer affair. The Indians had a solid outing from pitcher Jon Mark Walls who went 6 innings giving up 5 runs, 4 earned, while striking out 3 and walking 6. Unfortunately for Walls and the Indians, Chris Blackbee had a stellar outing. Blackbee threw a complete game shutout, only giving up 3 hits while fanning 5 and walking 3. The Flyers offense was quieted a bit after such an offensive barrage in the first game. The Flyers scored 5 runs on 5 hits, led by veteran third baseman, Seppi Zwyer, who went two for three with a double and a triple. The Flyers improved their record to 4-0 while the Indians fell to 0-2.
Zurich Challengers – Zurich Barracudas 6-5, 11-0
On a historic day when Swiss baseball turned over a new leaf the Challengers and the Zurich Barracudas opened their brand new Heerenschürli ballpark on Saturday, April 17.
There was no question that the main centerpiece of the day was the new ballpark, one that had first been talked about more than a decade ago. But the C’s managed to make sure that a sweep in a classical Zurich derby was a headline too.
Marco Visetti threw out the ceremonial first pitch and the crowd reserved a large ovation for him, before Challengers starter Thomas Burger opened the game. The first game was a worthy opener, as the Barracudas jumped out to an early 3-2 lead thanks to a pair of defensive miscues by the C’s, but a four-run eighth inning turned things around for the C’s. The Barracudas answered with two runs of their own in the ninth, but reliever Tobias Siegrist sealed the 6-5 win for the Challengers with a strikeout with the tying run on third base.
Siegrist pitched 7 innings of relief, allowing two runs and six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts for his first win of the season.
Game 2 was all Challengers, as they cruised to a 11-0 win over the Barracudas. Playing coach Brian Hipps, who made his debut in blue and red, went 3-for-3 with a double and Farid Bekkali highlighted his first game with the C’s since 1995 with a triple, while James Sanders tossed seven magnificent innings, as he allowed six hits and two walks, while also striking out seven for a shutout win.
| Time | Home | Visitor | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, April 17 2010 | ||||
 |
11:00 | Zürich Challengers | Zürich Barracudas | 06:05 |
|
11:00 | Sissach Frogs | Lucerne Eagles | 06:04 |
|
14:00 | Zürich Challengers | Zürich Barracudas | 11:00 |
|
14:00 | Sissach Frogs | Lucerne Eagles | 05:02 |
| Sunday, April 18 2010 | ||||
|
11:00 | Bern Cardinals | Embrach Mustangs | 05:07 |
|
11:00 | Therwil Flyers | Lausanne Indians | |
|
14:00 | Bern Cardinals | Embrach Mustangs | 02:12 |
|
14:00 | Therwil Flyers | Lausanne Indians | |
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | R+ | R- | .pct | GB | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Therwil Flyers | 20 | 4 | 232 | 103 | .833 | 0 | L2 |
| 2 | Bern Cardinals | 14 | 10 | 177 | 112 | .583 | 6 | W4 |
| 3 | Embrach Mustangs | 13 | 11 | 147 | 122 | .541 | 7 | L5 |
| 4 | Zürich Challengers | 12 | 12 | 179 | 163 | .500 | 8 | W1 |
| 5 | Zürich Barracudas | 12 | 12 | 106 | 131 | .500 | 8 | W1 |
| 6 | Sissach Frogs | 9 | 15 | 122 | 194 | .375 | 11 | W1 |
| 7 | Lucerne Eagles | 4 | 20 | 81 | 219 | .166 | 16 | W1 |
| 8 | Lausanne Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 8 |
