Therwil Flyers – Zurich Barracudas 9-3, 5-4
by JB Tucker, Therwil Flyers
Game One
Game one of the Saturday doubleheader between the Therwil Flyers and the Zürich Barracudas started off with an offensive bang from the Flyers. The Flyers immediately jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Daniel Eichenberger hit a towering blast to right center field clearing the wall by a considerable margin. Then, in the second inning, the Flyers tabbed two more after Emmanuel Raouzeous led off with a single followed by a Sebastian Zwyer reaching by a fielder’s choice. Both came around to score on singles from the top of the Flyer lineup.
The 4 run lead was all the Flyers and starting pitcher Lukas Croton would need. Croton dominated from the start, allowing two runs on four hits in six innings of work. Coming in to seal the game were relievers Stefan Koller and Adrian Kaufmann. Koller gave up one run in two innings of work, while Kaufmann finished the game by striking out the side with his over powering fastball and electric breaking ball.
The Flyers added a few insurance runs in the 6th and 8th inning to put the game well out of reach. Hitting standouts for the Flyers were Daniel Eichenberger who went 3-4 with a HR and 3 RBI and Chris Blackbee who went 3-4 with a 2b and a RBI. Final score for game one was 9-3 in favor of the Flyers.
Game Two
Game two between the Flyers and Barracudas was a much closer game. Both teams came out ready and battled to the end. In the top half of the first inning the Barracudas jumped on starter Chris Blackbee by scoring two runs courtesy of a leadoff single by Ueli Von Burg, a double by Kody Hightower, and a bad hop that went off the chest of Daniel Eichenberger.
The Flyers had a tough time with Barracudas pitcher Kody Hightower who kept the flyers hitters off balance for most of the day. The Flyers were able to push one run across in the second inning after a leadoff double by Stefan Koller and a RBI groundout by Hide Oshima. The Flyers were unable to score again until the fourth inning when again, Koller hit his second double of the day, Adrian Kaufmann sacrifice bunted him over, then Hide Oshima again had a RBI ground out to tie the game at 2.
The game stayed tied at two until the sixth inning when Flyers right fielder David Castillo misplayed a pop fly which resulted in a leadoff triple. Following the leadoff triple, the Barracudas had back to back doubles take a two run lead. Relieving Blackbee was JB Tucker who induced two ground balls and an infield pop fly to stop the Barracuda rally. Unable to score a run in the sixth inning, the Flyers came to bat in the seventh inning down by two runs.
Leading off the frame was Sebastian Zwyer, who reached base via a walk, followed by a Chris Blackbee single to put the tying run on base. With Taka Oshima attempting to bunt, he was hit in the arm to load the bases, but the field umpire over ruled the home plate umpire and said that Oshima was over the plate and it was actually a strike. So, both runners had to return to their respective bases and a strike was called on Oshima. The next pitch Oshima attempted to bunt was popped up and caught for out number one, with no runners advancing. JB Tucker then came up to the plate and grounded up the middle where the Barracudas shortstop attempted to catch Blackbee at second, but was unsuccessful due to the tremendous jump Blackbee had from first.
With the bases loaded and game one hitting standout Daniel Eichenberger at the plate, he did not disappoint. Lacing a 2 RBI double down the right field line to tie the game, Eichenberger came through in the clutch again. With the winning run on third, red hot Stefan Koller was at the plate. Although he was already three for three in the game with two doubles, the Barracudas chose to pitch to him anyway. This proved to be a mistake as Koller dropped a game winning soft line drive in front of the left fielder to win the game for the Flyers. It was an incredible finish to a hard fought game by both teams. Hitting standout for the Flyers was Stefan Koller who went a perfect 4-4 with 2 runs scored 2 doubles, and a walk off single. Final score of game two was 5-4 in favor of the Flyers.
| Time | Home | Visitor | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, April 30 2011 | ||||
 |
11:00 | Zürich Challengers | Embrach Mustangs | 03:05 |
|
11:00 | Therwil Flyers | Zürich Barracudas | 09:03 |
|
14:00 | Zürich Challengers | Embrach Mustangs | 06:11 |
|
14:00 | Therwil Flyers | Zürich Barracudas | 05:04 |
| Sunday, May 01 2011 | ||||
|
11:00 | Sissach Frogs | Bern Cardinals | 05:11 |
|
11:00 | Lucerne Eagles | Zürich Lions | 16:01 |
|
14:00 | Sissach Frogs | Bern Cardinals | 00:16 |
|
14:00 | Lucerne Eagles | Zürich Lions | 13:05 |
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 |
