Therwil Flyers – Zurich Lions 10-0, 16-3
by JB Tucker, Therwil Flyers
Game One
Game one between the Therwil Flyers and the Zurich Lions was a one sided affair. The Flyers came out of the gate scoring in five out of the seven innings that were played. Only seven innings were necessary due to the league’s mercy rule.
The Flyers scored their first run in the second inning after a double by Michel La Torre followed by a RBI single by Adrian Kaufmann. Although it was only one run, that is all the Flyers would need, as their pitching dominated the Lions for the entire game.
Starting on the mound and going two scoreless innings was Lukas Croton. After Croton left the game with tightness in his hip, Stefan Koller came in and continued to dominate the Lions hitters. Koller went 5 scoreless innings to earn the win. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Flyers scored 4 runs on 4 hits, without recording an out to run the score up to 10-0.
Hitting standouts for the game were Michel La Torre who went 2-4 with a double and JB Tucker who went 3-4 with two doubles and HR. Final score was 10-0 in favor of the Flyers.
Game Two
Game two between the Flyers and Lions started out much differently than the first game. Flyers starting pitcher Hide Oshima allowed three runs in the first inning on three hits and a walk. Oshima finally settled in and struck out the side to end the Lions’ rally.
The Flyers quickly answered by scoring five in the bottom half of the first and then three more in the second. Reto Siegel started the Flyers offense with a sharp single in the first and came around the bases on two wild pitches and scored on a RBI ground out by Daniel Eichenberger.
After the shaky first, the Flyers pitchers shut the Lions down for the rest of the game, not allowing another run. Hitting standouts for the Flyers were Reto Siegel who went 3-5 with two runs scored and a double, and Daniel Eichenberger who was 2-5. Final score was 16-3 in favor of the Flyers.
Zurich Challengers – Lucerne Eagles 8-9, 7-6
by Zurich Challengers
Game One
The Luzern Eagles extended the Challengers’ losing streak to three games as they overcame the Challengers’ 14 hits with a 9-8 stunner. Jerome Müller allowed eight runs on 13 hits and one base-on-balls over seven innings, but was still credited with the win. He outdueled Chris Palatinus who allowed five runs in the fourth and fifth innings after tossing three shutout innings to start the game.
Carlos Peña had four hits in five at-bats, including a double, Carl Conway added three singles in four at-bats, but the Challengers’ three errors – two by Conway – led to five unearned runs. Rudy Vargas led the Eagles’ offense with a 3-for-5 showing, and Jerome Müller helped his own cause with two singles and three RBI’s.
The Challengers jumped ahead by scoring four runs in the first two innings on a sac fly by Jesus Martinez, Yanik Probst’s two-run double, and Peña’s RBI-single. The Eagles got to Palatinus in the top of the fourth as Müller jumped on Palatinus’ first pitch with two outs and two runners in scoring position, lining a single to straight center that plated both runners.
Conway’s RBI-single in the bottom half of the inning with two outs got one run back, extending the Challengers’ lead to 5-2. In the top of the fifth inning, Reyes and Veras drew back-to-back walks to open the inning. René Plüss’ single loaded the bases with no outs, and Vargas took the opportunity to knock in two runners with a double to deep left center field. Tom Enz’s ground out to first scored another run to knot the score at 5 apiece. Palatinus managed to strike out Marco Limacher and induce Del Rosario to hit into an inning-ending ground out, but that ended his day.
Reliever Thomas Burger took over, and he was greeted by another single off Müller’s bat. He struck out the next two batters, and got Ramon Garcia to ground to shortstop Probst, who flipped the ball to second baseman Peña. Peña couldn’t handle the ball, extending the inning. Plüss profited from this blunder and knocked in Müller with an RBI-single.
In the top of the seventh, the Eagles added three more runs on just one hit. Conway’s second error of the game brought home one more unearned run for the Eagles, Müller and Limacher executed a perfect squeeze play, and Andreas Vogel drove home the Eagles’ ninth run with an RBI-double. The Challengers managed to answer with three runs on Conway’s sacrifice fly and Patrick Maier’s two-run triple, but they still trailed by one run. Stefan Haltmeier pitched the final two innings for the Eagles, allowing no more runs and hits, earning his first save of the season.
Game Two
The Challengers got away with a cheap win in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader at the Heerenschürli. They did it by scoring three times in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 7-6 win. All that with two outs and after allowing two runs in the top of the eighth. And the tying and winning runs scoring with the bases loaded on a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
This time, the Eagles outhit the Challengers 11-8, but came out as tough-luck losers. Eagles rookie Diego Müller pitched a complete game while the Challengers utilized four pitchers. Rookie Korey Kovac pitched five strong frames, allowing three runs – one of them unearned – on five hits and five walks, while striking out seven in his first start in the NLA. He ended up with a no-decision.
Carl Conway gave his NLA-debut in the sixth by allowing just two baserunners, and youngster Yanik Probst tried to close it out in the seventh and final inning. The Challengers had built up a 4-3 lead by that time, scoring runs in small portions. In the second inning, they put together three runs on Thomas Blank’s RBI-single, followed by run-scoring ground outs by Patrick Maier and rookie Daiki Sato.
The Eagles managed to come back and tie the score at 3-3 in the third inning thanks to an error by first baseman Bryan Shemley and back-to-back doubles by Rudy Vargas and Tom Enz. Conway’s sac fly in the bottom of the fifth inning made a winner out of starter Korey, but it didn’t hold up. Probst was summoned to close out a one-run game, and he started just fine by retiring the first two batters on a foul out to catcher Tobias Siegrist and a strikeout.
But Marco Limacher followed with a deep fly to straight center, and center fielder Patrick Maier seemed to have tracked down the ball. But before being able to scramble under the ball, he changed his route and let the ball drop in for a hit, enabling Limacher to reach second base. Jerome Müller followed with a soft pop fly just behind the infield, and Maier came racing in, but to no avail. Limacher scored and tied the game at 4-4.
The Challengers weren’t able to put anything together against Diego Müller in the bottom half of the inning, sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the eighth inning, reliever Conway was again called upon, but quickly ran into trouble as the Eagles laced together three hits, scoring twice for a 6-4 lead. The Challengers weren’t up to the task in the bottom half of the inning as Siegrist and Jesus Martinez popped out to shortstop and second, respectively, for two quick outs.
Maier kept the inning alive with a single, Blank’s grounder was misplayed by third baseman Del Rosario, and Shemley followed with a bloop single to left, just out of reach of left fielder Jerome Müller. With runners on third and second, the Eagles elected to intentionally walk Orlando Balbuena to load the bases. Diego Müller lost Probst and walked in the tying run, and Peña got hit with the third pitch, giving the Challengers an improbable 7-6 come-from-behind win.
Box scores and Play by Play at Spielplan.ch
| Time | Home | Visitor | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, April 16 2011 | ||||
 |
11:00 | Therwil Flyers | Zürich Lions | 10:00 |
|
11:00 | Zürich Barracudas | Bern Cardinals | 00:12 |
|
14:00 | Therwil Flyers | Zürich Lions | 16:03 |
|
14:00 | Zürich Barracudas | Bern Cardinals | 04:10 |
| Sunday, April 17 2011 | ||||
|
11:00 | Zürich Challengers | Lucerne Eagles | 08:09 |
|
11:00 | Embrach Mustangs | Sissach Frogs | 16:06 |
|
14:00 | Zürich Challengers | Lucerne Eagles | 07:06 |
|
14:00 | Embrach Mustangs | Sissach Frogs | 07:09 |
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | R+ | R- | .pct | GB | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Therwil Flyers | 26 | 2 | 272 | 88 | .928 | 0 | W11 |
| 2 | Bern Cardinals | 21 | 7 | 290 | 105 | .750 | 5 | L2 |
| 3 | Embrach Mustangs | 17 | 11 | 205 | 173 | .607 | 9 | L2 |
| 4 | Zürich Barracudas | 14 | 13 | 203 | 147 | .518 | 11.5 | W3 |
| 5 | Lucerne Eagles | 12 | 16 | 166 | 226 | .428 | 14 | W2 |
| 6 | Sissach Frogs | 11 | 17 | 200 | 228 | .392 | 15 | L1 |
| 7 | Zürich Challengers | 9 | 17 | 136 | 211 | .346 | 16 | L8 |
| 8 | Zürich Lions | 0 | 27 | 64 | 358 | .000 | 25.5 | L27 |
