The Bern Cardinals disposed of the Zurich Barracudas 14-6 in Game 3 last weekend to advance to their third straight Swiss Baseball League title series. The Cardinals will meet the winner of the Zurich Challengers – Reussbuhl Eagles Game 5 semi-final playoff matchup on Saturday.
The two-time defending Swiss champions swept the Barracudas in three games and were really never tested. One bright spot for Zurich was 18-year-old rookie pitcher Jeff MOTTL who tossed a one-hit shutout over five innings in a 10-4 loss in Game 2.
The Challengers thwarted the Eagles bid to clinch a finals berth with a tough 4-2 win this past Sunday to knot the series at two games apiece and force a winner-take-all showdown Saturday in Zurich. Reussbuhl claimed a narrow 7-6 victory last Saturday to gain a 2-1 series lead.
Zurich ace Harry BREGY pitched a complete game three-hitter and fanned 13 hitters to improve to 6-2 on the season. The southpaw also walked seven which enabled the Eagles to stay in the game.
Thomas Landis connected for his fourth home in the third – a two-run shot – to give the Challengers a 2-1 lead. Tobias SIEGRIST and Thomas BLANK both had three hits for Zurich. BLANK finished the weekend 6-for-9 and is hitting .369 this season.