Mister Baseball

by John Baum

‘Bows continue to prove defending champs are vulnerable in split vs. Cards
Sunday in Bern, the four-time defending Swiss champions once again suffered a setback, this time at the hands of the fifth place Embrach ‘Bows (10-14). Chris Beyeler was in cruise control for the Cardinals (18-5) through the first seven innings, allowing only two hits and no runs. The Cards were out to an early lead in the second inning, Johnny Perigos led off with a double before Tobias Imboden launched a homerun to center giving the home team a 2-0 lead. ‘Bows starting pitcher, Roger Salvodelli left the Cards off the scoreboard until the sixth, as Imboden drove in his third run of the game with a two out double, giving his team a 3-0 advantage. After a scoreless seventh for both teams, the wheels would fall off for the Cards defense in the eighth inning, as they would commit two errors allowing three runs to score to tie the game. The Cards had their chance to take the lead in the bottom of the inning, but once again a miscue led to a rally killer, as the leadoff hitter was picked off at first base with no outs. Back in the field for the ninth, the Cardinals committed two more errors, allowing three more unearned runs to score, putting the visiting ‘Bows ahead 6-3. A little rally was put out by Salvodelli, as he got John Baum swinging at strike three to end the game at 6-4 for the ‘Bows.

In game two the Cards responded well to a tough, and unexpected loss in the first game of the day, winning 13-1. Tobias Imboden continued his great day at the field pitching a complete game, one-hitter; striking out ten ‘Bows. In the bottom of the first, the home team raced out to a 5-0 lead. John Baum crushed a homerun to left center with a runner on for a 2-0 advantage; three other hits by Rudy Vargas, Chris Beyeler, and Miro Bussmann helped the Cards to the early lead. After three scoreless innings that saw the ‘Bows score one, leaving the game at 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinals exploded for eight more runs. Vargas had an RBI double, and he and Ronnie Zimmermann would score on Imboden’s second homerun of the day! After a two out walk to Vitus Huber, and a Samuel Paulino single, Baum connected on his second homer of the game. This would end the scoring, but would be more than enough for Imboden who continued his dominance over the visitors.

Flyers remain in first place after sweep of Barracudas
Frank Berchtold started game 1 for the ‘Cudas and pitched well contrary to what the final score would indicate. The Flyers scored 2 runs in the first and second innings through timely hitting and excellent base running. The ‘Cudas scored their lone run of the day in the top of the 2nd inning. Chris Bissig hit a laser double down the left field line to start the inning off. Manuel Hirtz then sacrificed him over to 3rd before Andres Montero hit a single to score him. Strahil Georgiev also followed with a single but the Barracudas could not scratch out another run. Berchtold settled down and retired the side in the 3rd and 4th so the game stood at 4-1 going into the bottom of the 5th. The 5th turned out to be a nightmare for the Barracudas as Therwil was able to push across 9 runs to put the game out of reach. Stefan Spring came into relief for the Barracudas for the second straight week in the middle of the 5th. The Flyers would score 3 with 2 outs in the 6th to end the game on a 15 run mercy rule.

Beni Montag was on the mound in game 2 for the Barracudas and he continued pitching masterfully. He was touched up in the bottom of the 1st by the Flyers for 1 run by the top of the order which continued to produce for the first place team. The scored remained 1-0 until the bottom of the 5th when the Flyers pushed across 2 more runs as again the middle of the order came through for the Flyers. Brent Nichols came into relief for the ‘Cudas in the 6th and kept the score at the eventual final of 3-0. Offensively, the Barracudas were hurt by hitting into 2 double plays and the fact that they could never get multiple hits in any inning. Georgiev was the hitting star for the Barracudas getting 3 of the teams’ 10 hits on the day. Chico Colindres also had 2 doubles and 2 steals of 3rd base and Hirtz also had a multi hit day. Clemens Lombriser made numerous outstanding catches in the outfield and Gabriel Meier , a normal infielder, also contributed solid defense in the outfield for the Barracudas. The NLA will try to get back on track next Sunday against the Eagles in Reussbuehl.

Challengers are one win away from securing playoff bid after sweep of Frogs
The Challengers extended their winning streak to eight games on Sunday against the Sissach Frogs. An excellent pitching and defensive performance paved the way in Game 1 as Chris Palatinus and Ueli Von Burg gave up only four hits, leading to only two runs in a 12-2 rout in seven innings.

In Game 2, the Challengers trailed 9-6 leading into the bottom of the sixth inning. But there, they scored nine times to secure a 15-9 win.

Now only five teams remain in the hunt for the four Playoff spots as the Zurich Barracudas were eliminated by two defeats to the front-running Therwil Flyers

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, July 25 2009
	11:00	Bern Cardinals	Embrach Rainbows	04:06
	14:00	Bern Cardinals	Embrach Rainbows	13:01
Sunday, July 26 2009
	11:00	Zürich Challengers	Sissach Frogs	12:02
	11:00	Therwil Flyers	Zürich Barracudas	16:01
	11:00	Reussbühl Eagles	Lausanne Indians	01:11
	14:00	Zürich Challengers	Sissach Frogs	15:09
	14:00	Therwil Flyers	Zürich Barracudas	03:00
	14:00	Reussbühl Eagles	Lausanne Indians	00:28

Standings