Vimpelin Veto v Joensuun Maila - round 1

Can Joensuu repeat history and beat Vimpeli in 2 semi final series in 2 years?
Photograph from Joensu Facebook (c) Joensuun Maila 2019
Semi finals review



Vimpelin Veto (1) 0 v 1 Joensuun Maila (4)
1-2k (7-1, 4-2)
Prediction: In our preview we struggled to pick a winner for this series, ultimately plumping for Vimpeli 3-2. It was of significance that of the games this season, both went to extra innings and going back to last year’s semi final, 2 of the 3 games went to extra innings and the other had a tied jakso. This series has all the hallmarks and hype to be a classic.
Summary: If this game was but a shadow of things to come, then this series is going to be a nail bitter. Vimpeli lept to an early lead in the first jakso with runs from Janne Mäkelä and Perttu Ruuska. Joensuu came back in the 3rd inning and tied the jakso with Henri Litmanen and Juha Niemi bringing runners home. In the bottom of the 3rd Vimpeli pulled back out in front with 2 more runs from Perttu Ruuska and Janne Mäkelä to win the first jakso. The second jakso was a different story again, where this time Vimpeli’s early lead of 2-0 was immediately overcome by the visitors, who lead 2-3 going into the 2nd inning. Sami Haapakoski’s run in the 2nd tied things for Vimpeli, but Joensuu came away with 3 runs in the 2nd inning thanks to a Konsta Kettunen kunniajuoksu. Matias Rinta-aho’s run in the 3rd inning was little more than a momentary shave off Joensuu’s lead as Juha Puhtimäki responded for the visitors in the bottom of the inning with a 3 run kunniajuoksu. Sami Haapakoski pulled a run back in the 4th inning, but it was all too little too late for the league leaders and JoMa won the second jakso 5-9. 

Juha Puhtimäki had a phenomenal game, showing his
superstar credentials to the home team.
Photograph from Joensuu Facebook (c) Joensuun Maila 2019
The supervuoro was tense and JoMa’s Juha Niemi brought Tuomas Jussila home to give Vimpeli a target to win this game. East v West all star Perttu Ruuska rose to the challenge and brought home Matias Rinta-aho, but the home side could not grind out a win and the game drifted into a kotiutuskilpailu. JoMa were first to lay down the gauntlet, with Juha Puhtimäki and Juha Niemi scoring to go 2 from 2 attempts. Aleksi Rautiainen was unable to convert Samuel Tirkkonen to go 2 from 3, but Lauri Kivinen gave Vimpeli a mountain to climb scoring off his attempt. Vimpeli struggled with their first 2 pairings and Sami Haapakoski and Perttu Ruuska drew blanks. Janne Mäkelä brought Mikkolanaho Kanala across the line for the team’s first run in the kotiutuskilpailu, but it would prove their last, handing Joensuu a stunning victory before the huge crowd of 2932.


A tight game won out in the end by JoMa in spectacular fashion
Photograph from Joensuu Facebook (c) Joensuun Maila 2019
Vimpeli scored in every inning they went to the plate, including the supervuoro and kotiutuskilpailu, but in the end Joensuu had too much left in the tank for Vimpeli to overcome in the kotiutuskilpailu. Juha Puhtimäki had a huge game, going 80% moving the point runner, including 3/3 with runners on 3rd base reaching home. Puhtimäki also hit a 3 run kunniajuoksu in the second jakso and was one of 3 to score in the kotiutuskilpailu. Konsta Kettunen also had a perfect score for bringing runners home from 3rd (3/3) with his 3 run kunniajuoksu in the second jakso. Despite having a poor overall percentage at moving the point runner (47%) compared to Vimpeli (63%) Joensuu made their hits count when it really mattered and kept them in the game. Matias Rinta-aho’s perfect 5/5 in the game, including 2 runs batted in and crossing home twice himself, the team just could not find that extra gear when it came to the kotiutuskilpailu. Rinta-aho was unable to convert his run in the kotiutuskilpailu and Perttu Ruuska and Sami Haapakoski failed to deliver as well, which sealed the victory for Joensuu.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

Finals review 2021

Image
In 5 games we were treated to some tense games and superb defence, but in the end Manse PP managed to break through and seal their first men’s championship in the club’s history in a 1-0 win over KPL. Manse finished top of the league in the regular season and soon became favourites to reach the final; however they were soon faced with elimination from the playoffs when they unexpectedly lost the first 2 games of their quarterfinal series against IPV. In the end, neither IPV or reigning champions Sotkamo could stop the star-studded team from securing their first final in only their second season in Superpesis. In my predictions going into the final, I struggled to pick a clear winner, but ended up backing KPL. At that point, I was convinced that Manse hadn’t reached their true potential this season and thought KPL would exploit that. A few weeks later and it seems that Manse did indeed unlock their potential and showed the strength of their defensive game in ways we rarely got to se
Read more

Suomi Tour 2021: Game review Tahko v Sotkamo 12.08.2021

Image
Tahko couldn’t build on their rally in the second jakso as a controversial call cast a shadow over the game Hyvinkään Tahko v Sotkamon Jymy 0-2 (1-2, 3-4) The next regular season game that I attended was the matchup between Tahko and Sotkamo. Despite a strong first jakso in their last game, Tahko were overwhelmed by Manse’s firepower. Whilst Sotkamo does not have the same style of offence as Manse, Sotkamo has consistently manufactured runs. Lauri Rönkkö has had a strong season so far and Toni Laakso has slotted into the lineup well. Sotkamo’s last game against Seinäjoki however proved that defensively they can be vulnerable, as they almost blew a 4 run lead in the 4th inning of the second jakso.  In Tahko’s last game, Manse took great pleasure in exploiting the inexperience of Joona Iivonen and put 19 runs past them across the 2 jakso. The team needed to reset and focus on this game, as the struggle for a top 8 spot intensifies. Tahko were 7th in the table going into this game, w
Read more