Around the league 12th to 14th July 2019

Around the league

12th to 14th July 2019

Seinäjoen JymyJussit v Koskenkorvan Urheilijat 12th July 2019

2-0 (5-1, 9-5)

Photograph from Seinäjoki Facebook (c) Seinäjoen JymyJussit 2019

Seinäjoki looked to this game to assert themselves after allowing Alajärvi back into the game last week. The home team have 4 wins out of the last 5 whereas Koskenkorva are on a slide and had lost 4 in 5. The head to head favoured Seinäjoki who had won the last 4 meetings. Seinäjoki opened the scoring in the 1st inning with Jukka-Pekka Vainionpää bringing home Juuso Myllyniemi. Before Koskenkorva could muster a response, Jukka-Pekka had scored twice more and Henri Puputti made it 4. Patrik Wahlsten made it 4-1, but the home side hero Jukka-Pekanbaru Vainionpää scored his 4th of the game to give Seinajoki a 5-1 lead that Koskenkorva were unable to overcome. Seinajoki won the jakso 5-1. For those who thought Jukka-Pekka was done with just 4 runs batted in, the 2nd inning in the second jakso must have come as a surprise as Jukka-Pekka scored a 4 run home run (kunniajuoksu) to double his tally for the day. As the home team piled on the runs early, they amassed an 8-0 lead by the 2nd inning. Koskenkorva were simply unable to mount a response and despite a 3 run home run from John Hakomäki in the 4th inning, ended the jakso 9-5. Seinäjoki won the game 2-0 (5-1, 9-5) in a real show of force. Koskenkorva are in a rut at the moment and are starting to fall behind the pack, they will be hoping their fortunes turn around soon or they will be firmly in the relegation fight.  For Seinäjoki it was a good result and it keeps them well placed to secure a playoff spot.

Pattijoen Urheilijat v Hyvinkään Tahko 12th July 2019

0-1 (1-2, 2-2)

Photograph from Raahe Facebook (c) Pattijoen Urheilijat 2019

Raahe s 3 wins out of the last 5 may not sound “all that”, but it is worth noting that those two loses came at the hands of Sotkamo. Tahko on the other hand had gone 2 out of 5 with loses to Alajärvi and Kempele. Both teams are desperate to secure a playoff spot, which for Tahko is looking more likely. In the first jakso Tahko drew first blood with Teemu Rouhiainen scoring off Juha Korhonen’s hit in the 2nd inning. The score stayed 0-1 until Jari Törmänen brought the score level in the 4th inning. Raahe could not take the lead and left the possibility of a tied jakso increasingly likely. To shatter that illusionTeemu Nikkanen scored what would be the decisive run in the 4th inning. Tahko started the second jakso strong and brought home 2 runs thanks to Juha Korhonen and Aleksanteri Haukka. Topi Kosonen reduced the lead to 1 run with a hit that brought Jan Hankala home in the firs5 inning. From there Raahe could not found a way back into the game, despite efforts.  All 3 outs for Raahe in the 3rd inning were attempting to bring the runner from 3rd. The relief came when Jari Törmänen batted in a run to level the scores, but Raahe could not capitalise and the second jakso ended in a tie. An intense game with very little between the 2 teams; the difference came when Teemu Nikkanen scored in the 4th inning to win the first jakso. Whilst Raahe had more 3rd base situations (15 compared to 11) and a better overall percentage at moving the point runner (52% compared to 41%), the chances for Raahe were not successful and Tahko walk away with 2 crucial points.

Alajärven Ankkurit v Joensuun Maila 13th July 2019

0-2 (0-4, 0-2)

Alajärvi are in danger of seeing their season end sooner rather than later, as they are starting to fall behind in the table. Alajärvi had won 1 game in the last 5, beating Tahko in supervuoro. The only other point Alajärvi has had in recent games is against Seinajoki in their last game. JoMa however are on a hot streak and won the last 3 on the bounce after tight loses to Sotkamo and Seinajoki. You have to go all the way back to 2015 to find the last time Alajärvi beat the current champions, which in itself was the only time after 2012 they achieved this feat. Juha Puhtimäki opened the scoring for JoMa in the first inning as Konsta Piironen made it home safely. Aleksi Rautiainen and Juha Niemi made it 2 and 3 before the inning was out to stamp their dominance on the game. Alajärvi never mounted much of a response and Aleksi Rautiainen got his second run batted in for the day when Tuomas Jussila scored in the 2nd inning. JoMa won the first jakso 0-4. After the turnaround Alajärvi kept the game tight, but runs from Simo Rautiainen and Juha Niemi made it 0-2 in the 2nd inning. Alajärvi were yet against unable to respond The and JoMa won the jakso 0-2. As the dust settled JoMa took the 3 points, blanking Alajärvi who could not score. Overall it was JoMa’s dominance on offence that won the day, where JoMa had a total of 20 situations with the runner on third, compared to Alajärvi’s 5. The conversation rate from 3rd base for JoMa was 32% compared to Alajärvi’s 0%. For Alajärvi it was another loss to weigh them down at the bottom of the table, whereas JoMa have closed the gap to 4th place Tahko which is now only 1 point.

Vimpelin Veto v Sotkamon Jymy 14th July 2019

0-1 (0-0, 1-9)

Photograph from Sotkamo Facebook (c) Sotkamon Jymy 2019

The last meeting between these two teams (14th June 2019) resulted in a 3 point win for Sotkamo. Fresh off a humiliating 0-2 loss to Siilinjärvi, Sotkamo looked to redeem themselves against their biggest rivals, Vimpeli. Vimpeli came to the game with 5 wins in their last 5 games, amassing 14 points out of a possible 15. The first jakso was a solid defensive performance all round, especially with diving catches from Sotkamo that held Vimpeli scoreless. In the second jakso, the pressure started to show on Vimpeli, as a wild throw and several mishandles meant that Sotkamo were able to build a 3 run lead in the 1st inning. While the home team did manage to pull a run back thanks to Matias Rinta-aho in the 2nd inning, Vimpeli were simply unable to cash in with runners on third with Perttu Ruuska and Jere Saukko out at home and Janne Mäkelä caught running (haava). In the 3rd and 4th inning Sotkamo turned the screw with 3 runs in each inning, with Antti Korhonen and Roope Korhonen scoring twice each. Vimpeli simply couldn’t mount a challenge from 1-9 down and the game was dead and buried. Sotkamo’s win helps close the gap to top spot and shows that they remain one of the favourites to take the championship at the end of the season. Vimpeli kept the first jakso tight, but will wonder why everything fell apart in the second jakso - if they want to keep their spot at the top of the table they will need to do better, especially as the result leaves KPL only 1 point behind them. 

Kankaanpään Maila v Koskenkorvan Urheilijat 14th July 2019

0-2 (1-5, 1-2)

This week had not been kind to Kankaanpää and they desperately hoped to win against the out of form Koskenkorva. As for the visitors, Koskenkorva were likewise desperate for a win and had lost the last 5 games and failed to get any points; a win against KaMa could put them back on track and could be vital come the end of the season. Both teams scored a run apiece in the first inning and the game looked tight, but Koskenkorva scored big in the 2nd inning with runs from Patrik Wahlsten, Juho Toivola (2) and Anttoni Jakobsson to lead 1-5. That was the way things stayed as Koskenkorva held KaMa to such little opportunity offensively, their only chance to bring a runner home was thwarted in the 2nd inning when Niko J Korhonen was caught running (haava). In the second jakso it was Kankaanpää who struck first with Kari Kellokoski bringing Mikko Pauna home to score. Whilst the second jakso remained tight, KaMa lost their lead in the 2nd inning thanks to Juho Toivola’s hit bringing Veli-Pekka Yli-Hirvelä home, and went behind in the 4th inning to end the game with Juho Toivola making it 4 runs for the day. The score at the end of the second jakso was 1-2. Overall Koskenkorva took the game with a big 2nd inning in the first jakso that KaMa couldn’t get back from, despite them keeping the visitors honest for most of the game. Koskenkorva remain 13th in the table, but will be hoping the 3 points will be enough to help them stave off relegation. For KaMa, this has been a week to forget and they will be hoping for better fortune in the week ahead as they have IPV and Siilinjärvi up next.

Kempeleen Kiri v Seinäjoen JymyJussit 14th July 2019

1-2s (9-1, 3-7, 0-4)

Photograph from Kempele Facebook (c) Kempeleen Kiri 2019

Kempele came to this game hoping to take away a point, if not a win. Their last 2 games had seen them force a supervuoro and lose to Sotkamo and Tahko. Seinajoki on the other hand had had a fair few victories recently, only losing to Vimpeli (twice) in their last 8 games. Despite JyJu jumping to a 0-1 lead in the first, Kempele scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning thanks to home runs (kunniajuoksu) from Matti Korhonen. Kempele kept the offence coming and thanks to a further home run (kunniajuoksu) from Ossi Meriläinen (3 runs) led the game 9-1 by the start of the 4th inning. The visitors were simply unable to respond and the jakso was won 9-1. In the second jakso Jukka-Pekka Vainionpää scored twice in the 1st inning to give JyJu an early lead. Jukka-Pekka made it 3 in the 2nd inning leaving the home side a mountain to climb in the 4th. Kempele’s rally in the 4th inning started when Valtteri Kleemola scored off a wild throw. Runs from Ossi Meriläinen and Joona Suni tied it for the home team and it looked as though they would tie the jakso to win the game. But Seinäjoki were not done yet, in particular Jukka-Pekka Vainionpää who scored a 4 run home run (kunniajuoksu) to win the jakso 3-7. In the end JyJu were just too strong for Kempele as they won the supervuoro 0-4 with the first run coming from the second jakso hero Jukka-Pekka Vainionpää who had 9 runs batted in on the day Elmeri Lieto made it 0-4 with a 3 run kunniajuoksu to bury the home team. For Kempele it was another valuable point in the hunt for a final playoff spot, but they will be disappointed not to have won the game, having been so dominant in the first jakso and having tied the second jakso in the 4th inning. For Seinajoki it was a warning that whilst their run of form has been good, teams are still able to score big against them. Seinajoki remain comfortable for now in 6th in the table, but they are starting to fall behind 5th place and have 8 points to make up if they want to leapfrog Tahko to take that spot.

Kouvolan Pallonlyöjät v Kiteen Palo -90 14th July 2019

2-0 (8-1, 4-3)

KPL are one of the form teams at the moment and are putting pressure on Vimpeli to retake 1st in the table. KPL had won all of their last 5 matches and 8 of the last 10. The head to head between the teams favours KPL massively, who haven’t lost to Kitee since 21st August 2018. Kitee’s form has been poor of late and they had lost 4 of the last 5, beating IPV on 9th July 2019 after the East-West break. KPL utterly dominated the first jakso with 8 unanswered runs going into the bottom of the 4th inning. Whilst Kitee managed to score a run it was all too little too late and the first jakso went to KPL 8-1. Kitee scored first to open the second jakso, but KPL continued to mount pressure, scoring twice in the 1st and 2nd innings to leave Kitee 4-1 behind. Despite a valiant effort, Kitee just could not overcome the total set by KPL and they fell short in the 4th inning 4-3. KPL had 26 3rd base situations compared to Kitee’s 12, coupling this with a 66% success rate at moving the point runner compared to 52%, showed how dominant KPL were. The loss sees Kitee slip to 9th in the table, with only 1 point separating them from 12th place. KPL put the pressure on Vimpeli, who tripped up against Sotkamo earlier in the day.

Siilinjärven Pesis v Pattijoen Urheilijat, Raahe 14th July 2019

0-2 (0-1, 1-3)

Fresh off the back of an historic victory over Sotkamo, SiiPe came home to try their luck with Raahe. SiiPe were 3 wins from 5 coming into this game and had lifted themselves from the bottom two to chase for a playoff spot. Raahe were also coming off the back of the same record over the last 5. The head to head significantly favoured Raahe, winning the 2 games the teams have played each other and taking both jakso each time. One run was all it took in a very tight first jakso, as Raahe got the better of the home team in the first inning thanks to Jari Törmänen who brought Timo Kallio home. The game remained firmly in the balance until the 3rd inning of the second jakso when Jari Törmänen scored twice more to break the game open. In response SiiPe managed to bring the lead to just 1 run with Simo Vainikainen running home off Teemu Kinnunen’s hit. Finally Jari Törmänen made it 4 runs in the day, when his hit saw MiikkaMatikka score, and left SiiPe a small (but unassailable) mountain to climb. Jari Törmänen was the difference in thy game as he brought home 100% of the runs scored in the whole game, despite him only being 62% at advancing the point runner. A tight game all in all and SiiPe will be frustrated not to have kept up with Raahe, only scoring 1 run all game. Raahe will be relieved that they picked up all 3 points from a game that they were heavy favourites to win.