Chris Beyeler and John Baum both tossed no-hitters as the Bern Cardinals rolled over the Sissach Frogs, 18-3 and 10-0, to remain on course for their third straight Swiss title.
The Cardinals banged out 19 hits in the first game including eight doubles and home runs by Jhonny Perigos, Tinu Gygax, and John Baum to improve to a Swiss-best 7-1 mark.
The Frogs fared no better in the second game as Baum fanned 14 and connected for his second homer of the day as the Cardinals dissected a team that was in the hunt for the Swiss championship last season.
The Cardinals have the deepest rotation in the league with Beyeler, Baum, and Angelo Rodriguez. With the imminent return of national team hurler, Severin Fries, from the U.S. the Cardinals will be hard to beat.
The Zurich Challengers and the Zurich Barracudas split a pair of games last weekend as both teams keep a watchful eye on the streaking Cardinals.
Thomas Landis pitched five solid innings fanning six Barracudas and going 2-for-5 at the plate as the Challengers took the opening game, 13-7.
Chris Palatinus led the Challengers with four hits and three RBI’s while Tobias Siegrist went 2-for-4 and scored four runs. Farid Bekkali was 2-for-4 with four RBI’s for the Barracudas.
The Barracudas scored six early runs to slip past the Challengers, 7-5, in the second game as five players collected two hits for the winners. Brian Shemley, Thomas Blank, and Siegrist had two hits for the Challengers.
In other Swiss league action, the Therwil Flyers swept the Lausanne Indians, 7-4 and 14-8, and the Reussbuhl Eagles dealt the Embrach Rainbows a pair of losses, 9-7 and 19-3.