Around the league 16th and 17th July 2019


Around the league
16th and 17th July 2019



Hyvinkään Tahko v Vimpelin Veto 16th July 2019
0-2 (1-4, 3-6)
Photograph from Tahko Facebook (c) Hyvinkään Tahko 2019
Vimpeli looked to bounce back from their defeat at home to Sotkamo at the weekend and build on their lead at the top of the table. Vimpeli had been almost flawless this season and had not lost two games in a row so far. For Tahko their record was less impressive; although they had won 3 of their last 5 games and taken a point from each of their two losses. Vimpeli had won all bar 1 of their encounters with Tahko in the last 5 years. Tahko opened the scoring in the 2nd inning thanks to Juha Korhonen, but their lead was short lived as Vimpeli scored 4 runs in the bottom of the second. From there on out Vimpeli remaining in control and Tahko were unable to score. Vimpeli won the first jakso 1-4. Vimpeli started the second jakso with Olli Heikkala scoring off Elmeri Anttila’s hit. Janne Mäkelä made it 0-3 for the visitors bringing home Ville Takala nad Janne Heimonen in the 3rd. Juha Korhonen pulled 2nback for Tahko in the 3rd, but Vimpeli made it 2-6 in the 4th to give Tahko a mountain to climb. Despite juha Korhonen bringing Patrik Vartama home to score, Tahko could not mount a comeback and the second jakso was won by Vimpeli 3-6. Vimpeli were dominant in this game and this win will help them get back on track to retain top spot; more importantly, the 3 points means that they are the first team to guarantee a playoff spot. For Tahko it was a disappointment, but not a surprise; Tahko are still relatively comfortable in the table at 5th, with 8 points over 6th place Seinäjoki.

Alajärven Ankkurit v Imatran Pallo-Veikot 16th July 2019
2-1s (0-5, 1-0, 1-0)
Alajärvi are in desperate need of wins to pull themselves from the bottom of the table, but it is not clear where those wins will come from if their current form continues. IPV are also in poor shape, having drifted away from a playoff spot recently, having won only once since the East-West break. IPV got straight to work, despite their being rain in the air, scoring in the first inning as Alajärvi first baseman mis-fielded Konsta Kurikka’s hit to bring Juuso Lattu home. Konsta Kurikka scored 2 more runs with a line drive to right field, but was outpaced by the throw to 3rd base for an out that prevented a home run (kunniajuoksu). Jere Dahlström made it 4 in the 3rd inning and Konsta Hyötyläinen topped off IPV’s score to 0-5 by bringing Teemu Nurmio home as his short bouncing hit just stayed fair of the right foul line. Alajärvi were unable to score and were shut out 0-5 in the first jakso. The second jakso was tight and neither side seemed to have the edge, until Martti Viltasalo’s line drive was narrowly missed by IPV’s diving shortstop and allowed Severi Piispanen to run home and score. The run proved decisive for the jakso as neither side could find a way to score. With 1 jakso won each the teams lined up for a supervuoro. IPV’s nerves must have been jangled as they were looking for a final out to end Alajärvi’s 
supervuoro, as their shortstop in left field mis-fielded a fairly low speed hit from Martti Viltasalo. The result of the error was to cost IPV the game as Ville Posti ran home to score and IPV were scoreless in their half of the inning. Alajärvi were lucky to hold up for the win after being blanked in the first jakso. The win gives Alajärvi a chance to close in on 13th in the table, but far from being out of danger. IPV outscored Alajärvi, but when it counted failed to turn runs into a win. IPV are 10th with 1pt lead over 11th and 12th.

Sotkamon Jymy v Kempeleen Kiri 17th July 2019
2-0 (4-1, 4-0)
Sotkamo came into this game rejuvenated by their win over Vimpeli and hoping to put their 0-2 defeat to Siilinjärvi behind them. Sotkamo had won 3 out of their last 5 games but only taken 2 points from each of those wins. Kempele had not won since June and things are starting to look desperate as they sink towards the bottom of the league. As the rain came down at Sotkamo the crowd could barely distinguish between the thunder and the roar of the home team’s bats. With the weather making things difficult for both sides Sotkamo’s first run came from a walk in the 1st inning. Kempele drew level thanks to Aki Hanhela. The home side regained the lead as flashes of light crossed the sky and Lauri Rönkkö brought home Joni Rytkönen. Antti Kiiskinen made it 3-1 to finish the 2nd inning. Roope Korhonen made things worse for Kempele in the 3rd scoring Niilo Piiponniemi to make it 4-1. Kempele were sunk and could not chase down the total, leaving Sotkamo the winners of the first jakso 4-1. Whilst the rain eased off in the second jakso, Sotkamo did not and scored 2 runs in the 2nd inning to throw down a marker for Kempele. Lauri Rönkkö made it 4-0 as he attempted a kunniajuoksu (home run) in the 3rd and made it 100% for him moving the point runner for the day. Kempele had nothing in the tank and the 4th inning came and went without them scoring. Sotkamo will be ecstatic that they took a 3 point win for the first time since the East-West break and hope this will be the trend going forward. Kempele add this to their string of losses and wonder where their next points will come from. Kempele sit at 9th in the table only 1 point away from 11th place IPV.

Elsewhere in the league
Joensuun Maila v Kempelen Kiri 16th July 2019

2-0 (6-3, 8-2)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elimination preview: 2021

Image
Can Hamina turn their fortunes around and break SiiPe’s home record? Whilst the spotlight is on the top 8, the most intriguing matchup is the elimination series between SiiPe and Hamina. The loser will be relegated, the winner will have the change to stay in Superpesis if they can beat the league leaders in Ykköspesis (which will be either Oulu or Kuopio).   (14) SiiPe v (15) Hamina SiiPe start this series coming off the back of a remarkably up and down season. Siilinjärvi have beaten the likes of KPL, KiPa, Seinäjoki and Tahko - all at home. In fact, their home record has been so much at odds with their away record, that their points won from home games was 13 (an average of 0.93 per game) and points won from away games was a disastrous 2 (an average of 0.17).  On the other side, Hamina have struggled to reach their potential in 2021, mostly as a result of a series of injuries to Sasu Toikka and Matias Hangasmaa, but the lost opportunities and games where points were gi...
Read more

1952 - an exhibition of Finnish sport

Image
Emblem of the 1952 Summer Olympics, held in Helsinki I have had this post in my mind for quite some time after doing research into the origins of pesäpallo. Whilst the beginnings of pesäpallo date back even prior to the official commencement date in 1922, 1952 is actually an important year for showcasing pesäpallo on the world stage. Post war Europe  With political and social divisions in Europe in a state of self-reflection, the ideals of cooperation and prosperity took on an international element. Whilst gripped in an ideological struggle between the free-market west and soviet east, many countries sought strength in the form of cooperation and mutual economic practices. In stark contrast this period saw the birth of nuclear and atomic weapons testing. This atmosphere culminated in the birth of 2 organisations: A. The Nordic Council - which was established by agreement in 1952 and met in 1953; and B. The European Coal and Steel Community (the foundation organisat...
Read more

Playoff previews 2021: Semifinals

Image
The semifinals promise to be action packed and full of surprises… The first round of the playoffs are now over and the semifinals are set. Here is my preview of the last 4: (1) Manse PP v (4) Sotkamo Both of these teams played a tough series to reach the semifinals. Manse almost became the victims of a surprise series win by IPV; however Manse came back from losing their opening 2 games and won in 5 games. Sotkamo’s road to the semifinals had a substantially more threatening roadblock in the form of a hungry Joensuu side. If JoMa had home field advantage for the series, or the ball had bounced a certain way, this semifinal would look very different. Sotkamo’s regular season games against top 4 sides were not great and they lost more games than the other 3. Despite a dazzling performance at Kaupi on 30th July, Manse still got the better of the reigning champions in their most recent matchup. Manse now have to prove that they are the championship contenders they claim to be. Expect th...
Read more