Superpesis final review - round 2

 Joensuu know they are just 1 win away from retaining their title
Photograph from Joensuu Facebook (c) Joensuun Maila 2019
Superpesis final review - round 2

Joensuun Maila (4) 2 - 0 Sotkamon Jymy (2)
1-0 (3-3, 3-1)
Prediction: In our preview we suggested that the series would be tight, with Sotkamo winning 3-2. Whilst this game was a much closer affair, Joensuu now lead the series 2-0.
Sotkamo came up short against a well drilled Joensuu
Photograph from Joensuu Facebook (c) Joensuun Maila 2019
Summary: The series headed to Joensuu after a week’s break, giving both teams time to reflect on the opener. This game was much tighter, including the fact that the first jakso was tied; however Joensuu prevailed and gave the home fans something to cheer about as the current champions are now just 1 win off retaining their title. The first jakso opened with Juha Niemi’s run in the 1st inning, but Sotkamo kept them earnest, coming back and then going ahead in the bottom of the inning off hits from Antti Korhonen and Lauri Rönkkö. Superstar Juha Puhtimäki put the home side level again in the 2nd inning before Konsta Kettunen scored the go ahead run in the same inning. As the latter half of the first jakso remained tight, Sotkamo were a run behind going into the 4th inning, only for leadoff man Niilo Piiponniemi to score a stunning kunniajuoksu to tie the jakso. Sotkamo however could not convert him bringing him home from 3rd base and the jakso remained 3-3.

The face says it all. Sotkamo’s chances to become champions ebb away
Photograph from Joensuu Facebook (c) Joensuun Maila 2019
The second jakso saw the home team reassert their dominance with 3 runs. Aleksi Rautiainen brought Konsta Piironen home to open the scoring and Juha Niemi brought home Tuomas Jussila. The lineup batted around again before the inning ended and Tuomas Jussila’s hit saw Iiro Kuosa cross home plate. Sotkamo narrowed the gap with Lauri Rönkkö’s hit seeing Niko Korhonen score, but this was as close as they got, with Joensuu seeing off Sotkamo’s potent batting lineup in the 3rd and 4th innings.

This win leaves Sotkamo on the brink of elimination, needing to win all three remaining games in the series to be crowned champions. Joensuu will be delighted having won in front of the home fans with the prospect of sweeping Sotkamo when the series returns on the 15th September. The short turnaround will not give Sotkamo much time to adjust; however they will take comfort in knowing that this game really could’ve ended with either team being victorious up until the close of the last inning in the second jakso. Joensuu can afford to take a more relaxed approach in the next game; however are unlikely to do so. Joensuu have been outstanding in the post season, having swept Vimpeli and Tahko before them, they surely will feel favourites now going into the 3rd game of the series.


Whilst Sotkamo had more 3rd base opportunities (15 compared to Joensuu’s 14), Joensuu had much better success at advancing the point runner (56% overall compared to Sotkamo’s 46%). Sotkamo’s Roope Korhonen had a very quiet game, going 14% overall and failing to bring runners home from 3rd on 3 occasions. Niilo Piiponniemi’s efforts kept Sotkamo in the game and his crucial kunniajuoksu in the first jakso was one of the highlights for the visiting team. Joensuu on the other hand had a number of good performances up and down their lineup, with Tuomas Jussila going 7/7 with 1 run batted in and reaching home once himself. Runs came from 5 different players for Joensuu, who showed how threatening their lineup can be in any situation. One big difference between the 2 teams seemed to be the success rate at moving runners from 2nd to 3rd, with Joensuu going 10/16 compared to Sotkamo’s 6/13. With one hand on the trophy, Joensuu head to Sotkamo for game 3 in the hope of sweeping Super Jymy and securing their names in the history books. Sotkamo however will have to bounce back if they want to take the crown from their opponents; a loss ends their season, a win will give them hope, but momentum is now firmly with Joensuu.

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

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

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