Baseball In Zug

The Hünenberg Unicorns travelled to the Eagles in Lucerne at the weekend. The Hünenberg team lost the first game after a catch-up, but won the second one.

After a delay of two-and-a-half-month, the baseball season finally kicked off last weekend. On Saturday, the Hünenberg Unicorns travelled to Lucerne for the first two games against the Eagles. The first game started very badly, and the Unicorns were 10-0 behind after a short period of time. After Michael Bini took over as a pitcher, however, things looked up. Bini allowed only five runs in six innings, and the Unicorns were thereby able to catch up. They were unable to completely close the gap, however, and lost the first game 11-15. In the second game, Shaen Bernhardt took over the pitching for the first four innings, and gave a strong performance. The pitcher was changed for the last two innings, and Ismael Martinez finished the game without allowing a run. In the end, the Unicorns won the second game by 21 to 7 runs.

The Hünenberg Unicorns (in red) won the second game.

The story of the day was the Unicorns' offensive performance. The 21 runs scored in the second game is the largest number of runs in a single game by the Unicorns since 2017. The offensive lead was led by newcomer Franklin Chavez, who scored four hits. He also provided a rare highlight by managing a home steal. Andreas Gamma, Bilmanio Castillo and Marvin Müller also scored several hits. Raphael Jung played his first game on Saturday, scoring his first hit in the second inning. Asked about this, he said: "It was an incredible feeling. The pitcher threw the baseball in my direction with all his might, and by the time I’d decided, within a few tenths of a second, to pull through, it had already happened. I hit the ball perfectly. I immediately ran and made it to first base in time."

First game, first run
Simon Weisskopf was also playing his first baseball game. He thereby hit a walk and scored his first run. After the game, he said: "Since my exchange year in Canada, I've been fascinated by baseball and I've always wanted to try it if I had a chance. Everything is a little faster than in training. You have to get used to it first, but it's definitely fun!»

All in all, the Unicorns can be satisfied with the start of the season. Next Sunday, 21 June, the Unicorns will continue with a doubleheader in Lausanne against the Indians.