by John Baum
CARDINALS SWEEP PAST BARRAUCDAS TO REACH FOURTH CONSECUTIVE FINAL!
On Saturday in Bern, Severin Fries and the Bern Cardinals won game one of the best of three semifinals versus the Zurich Barracudas 9-2! The Cards took advantage of three first-inning walks to take an early 3-0 lead against ‘Cuda starter Nderim Coma. Samuel Paulino recorded the only hit of the inning with a bases loaded two-run single. The Barracudas cut into the Cardinals lead in the third inning, scoring two unearned runs thanks to two errors. The home team answered quickly in the bottom half of the same inning, scoring twice on no hits, a walk, an error, and two passed balls! After the third inning, Fries was in cruise control, keeping the visitors off the scoreboard the rest of the game while striking out six on the day. The offense for the Bern team struck again in the fourth and fifth inning…scoring once in each of those frames to take a strong 7-2 lead. The Cards finished off the scoring in the eighth inning, scoring twice, thanks to two walks and a Paulino single, putting the final score at 9-2. The Cards were led offensively by Paulino, 2-5 3 RBI; Raphael Hanzi 1-2, 2B, BB.
The two teams met again Sunday in Embrach with the Cards one game away from the finals. The Barracudas would need a win to keep their season alive, and sent Frank Berchtold to the hill to try to prolong their season. The Cardinals once again went out to an early lead, scoring one time in the first; Paulino hit a one out single, stole second, advanced to third on a flyball to left, and eventually scored on a wild pitch. The Zurich boys again answered the scoring with a run of their own in the first, an error on John Baum and a passed ball scoring leadoff man Charles Brown. Tobias Imboden led off the second inning for the visiting team with a triple to left-center, and would score the go ahead run on a Severin Fries double. Fries ended the scoring in the second inning thanks to a Vitus Huber sac fly. Cardinals’ starter, Chris Beyeler kept the ‘Cuda offense off the board until the fourth inning when a single and two wild pitches cut the Bern lead to 3-2. In the top of the fifth, the Cardinals came alive, scoring four times thanks to two hits and two walks, stretching the lead to 7-2. Three more runs the next inning basically put the game to bed at a score of 10-2. The Barracudas tried to make it a game in the eighth inning, pushing three runs across the plate. With runners at first and second, John Baum relieved Imboden, who had started the inning on the mound… Baum issued a walk to load the bases before a 6-3 groundout ended the threat. The Cards scored on more time the in the ninth, on Beyeler’s single to left. The scoreboard in the end showed a convincing 11-5 win for the three-time defending champs, and another trip to the finals! The Cards were led offensively by Baum 3-5; Paulino 2-4, 3 Runs; Imboden 3-5 3B, 2 Runs.
The finals will begin Saturday in Lausanne, at 14:00, in a game originally scheduled in Bern. The game scheduled for Sunday in Lausanne will be played in Bern, at the Allmend at 14:00. The change of location is due to Bern-rugby having games on the Allmend; their field is too intrusive into the baseball field.
Results:
Sunday, September 14:
Therwil Flyers – Lausanne Indians 11-14
Lausanne Indians – Therwil Flyers 9-5
(Lausanne wins series 2-0) Recap
Saturday, September 27:
Bern Cardinals – Zurich Barracudas 9-2
Sunday, September 28:
Zurich Barracudas – Bern Cardinals 5-11
(Bern wins series 2-0)