Decade series - 2010 In review

Vimpeli won the championship with strong performances from Henri Puputti and Sami Haapakoski
Photograph from Vimpeli homepage (c) Vimpelin Veto 2010

The regular season

The regular season opened on 11th May with Ouluun Lippo defeating Jyväskylän Kiri 0-2 (2-5, 3-7). Over the course of 26 games, KPL finished first in the league, with Vimpeli finishing second. Bothe KPL and Vimpeli won all 5 of their remaining games and leapfrogged Sotkamo, who finished 3rd, after their poor end to the season saw them only win 2 of their final 5 games. Jyväskylä missed out on the final playoff spot despite wins over Koskenkorva, Tahko and Joensuu in their final 5 games.

The final table was:

Sami Joukainen of KPL led the league for runs batted in with 79 overall (including 5 kunniajuoksu) over 26 games. Sami had 8 more runs batted in than 2nd place Roope Korhonen of Sotkamo. Vimpeli held the top 2 spots in terms of runs with Sami Haapakoski (65 over 26 games) and Henri Puputti (60 over 26 games), which was some margin ahead of Timo Kallio of PattU who had 47 over 26 games. Perhaps the most telling statistic of the 2010 regular season was the phenomenal number of successful hits that Henri Puputti racked up, being 220 over 26 games, with 24 to 1st base, 136 to 2nd base 37 to 3rd base and 23 runs batted in. This was significantly far ahead of 2nd place Antti Hartikainen of Sotkamo who had 162 successful hits moving the point runner over 26 games. 

The playoffs

First round

In the first round of the playoffs, KPL faced off against Kitee and beat them in 3 straight games. KPL won the opening game 2-0 (5-3, 3-2) with confidence, but game 2 of the series proved to be far more tense as Kitee won the first jakso 2-1 in front of their home crowd. KPL narrowly won the second jakso after Kitee narrowed the gap to 1-2. The game was decided by a supervuoro which KPL won 0-1. The final score was 1-2 (2-1, 1-2, 0-1). The return game for KPL started slowly, with Kitee scoring first. KPL scored a tying run in the 4th inning to leave the jakso tied. In the second jakso Kitee again struck first with 2 runs in the 1st inning; however KPL came back from behind to win the game 1-0 (1-1, 3-2).

Oulu took on Tahko and beat them in 3 straight games. Oulu won game 1 in convincing fashion winning both jakso with Markku Hylkilä batting in 4 of Oulu’s 9 runs. The final score line was 2-0 (3-1, 6-3). Game 2 was much closer and Tahko narrowly lost the first jakso 4-5. The second jakso ended in a 1-1 tie to put Tahko on the brink of elimination from the playoffs. In the final game of the series Oulu won the first jakso 4-2 before holding out for a tie in the second jakso to win the game. Despite Tahko having a better success rate at moving the point runner (59% compared to 54%) game 3 was always in the hands of Oulu and Tahko were playing catch-up. 

Vimpeli beat Koskenkorva 3-0 to advance and set up a matchup with the 2009 champions Sotkamo. Vimpeli put down a marker for the series immediately with a whopping 14 run first jakso. Koskenkorva’s offence simply could not keep up and the first jakso was Vimpeli’s for the taking 14-2. The second jakso offered up far less in terms of offence, but Vimpeli stretched out a 5-0 lead early to leave Koskenkorva chasing the game once more. Koskenkorva fell short once more losing the jakso 5-3. In Game 2 Koskenkorva pleased home fans by winning the first jakso 2-1, but Vimpeli soon out that right by winning the second jakso 0-3. The game was decided by a supervuoro which Vimpeli won 0-4. Koskenkorva travelled to Vimpeli with the series on the line and put on a brave performance in front of the crowd of 3093 fans. Koskenkorva took the first jakso 1-2 but Vimpeli kept calm heads and won the second jakso 5-0. The supervuoro was scoreless and the game was won in the end by Vimpeli in a kotiutuskilpailu 1-0.

Sotkamo beat PattU 3-0 to in their bid bid to retain their title as Superpesis champions. Sotkamo’s series against PattU was flawless - Sotkamo won both jakso in each of their 3 games, albeit 4 of those jakso were decided by a single run. In the expending game Sotkamo left it late in the first jakso to record the win, with the score 2-3 in PattU’s favour going into the 4th inning. Sotkamo scored twice to secure the first jakso. In the second jakso, a late rally from PattU fell short as the visitors scored 3 runs in the final inning to lose 4-3. The final score was 2-0 (4-3, 4-3). For game 2 Sotkamo travelled to PattU and gave a solid performance winning 0-2 (2-3, 1-3). In Game 3 PattU were on the brink of elimination as Sotkamo took the first jakso 4-2. Despite taking the lead in the 1st inning of the second jakso, 2 runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings saw Sotkamo win the game and the series.

Semi-finals

KPL beat Oulu 3-0 to advance to reach their second consecutive final. In Game 1 Toni Kohonen and Sami Partanen put on strong performances to win the first jakso 3-1. The second jakso ended in a 1-1 tie as neither side could gain an advantage. Game 2 returned to Oulu where KPL’s 1st inning run was the difference in the first jakso. The visitors continued to stun home fans as Oulu was held scoreless again in the second jakso. KPL’s 2 runs in the 1st inning of the second jakso was enough to give KPL a 2-0 lead in the series.

Game 3 was a close run game where KPL took the first jakso 5-4 but Oulu won the second 1-2 to keep their season alive. The game remained tied after a scoreless supervuoro and was decided by a kotiutuskilpailu that KPL won 2-1. Oulu’s season was over - having opened the season they now looked towards the bronze award series to redeem their season. For KPL, this was their second consecutive finals appearance and a chance to win their first championship since 1976.

Vimpeli put on a stellar performance to knockout the reigning champions Sotkamo 3-1 to reach their first final since 1975. Game 1 was a close run thing, with Vimpeli winning the first jakso 1-0 and the second jakso ending in a 1-1 tie. Game 2 had more offence, but nothing could separate the teams in the first jakso as it ended 3-3. Sotkamo sealed the win with 2 runs in the 4th inning of the second jakso to build on their 1 run lead. 

With the series tied, the game returned to Vimpeli to a huge crowd of 3716 spectators. Game 3 saw Vimpeli stop Sotkamo’s offence almost entirely, with Sotkamo only scoring 1 run all game in the 4th inning of the second jakso. Vimpeli took the win and the lead in the series 2-1. In Game 4, both teams pulled out all the stops and Vimpeli raced quota an early 5 run lead in the first jakso. With Sotkamo trailing substantially, the first jakso was never really in doubt and Vimpeli won comfortably 3-9. The second jakso however saw Sotkamo turn the tables on the visitors and tie the game with a 5-1 win in the second jakso. With a scoreless Supervuoro, the fate of Sotkamo rested on a kotiutuskilpailu. Despite their efforts, Sotkamo were simply unable to match the might of Vimpeli and the game was over. Vimpeli advanced to the final with momentum and a sense of belief - could this be their year?

Photograph from Vimpeli homepage (c) Vimpelin Veto 2010

Finals

In Game 1 Vimpeli and KPL flexed their muscles and showed off their batting skills. KPL won the first jakso 5-1; however Vimpeli forced a supervuoro by winning the second inning 1-5, thanks in part to Sami Haapakoski’s 8 out of 9 successful hits to reach 1st base and Jere Dahlström’s kunniajuoksu and 4 other runs batted in. The game remained tied after the supervuoro and was settled by a kunniajuoksu 1-2 in favour of Vimpeli.

In Game 2 Vimpeli edged KPL again in a kunniajuoksu after another stellar performance from Sami Haapakoski (8 hits from 9 attempts) kept the game on a knife edge. With the championship on the line, KPL came out fighting in Game 3 in front of the home crowd. A tight first jakso was won by KPL 1-0 after Vimpeli’s offence was silenced. The second jakso saw KPL win 4-2 with Toni Kohonen and Matti Latvala putting in big performances.

In Game 4 Vimpeli and KPL tied the first jakso 2-2 as the lead changed hands several times. The second jakso however opened up for Vimpeli and the team stared history in the face. With 2 runs in the 1st inning and 5 runs in the 2nd, Vimpeli had an insurmountable lead. KPL had nothing let in the tank and were unable to score in the jakso. Vimpeli won the game 1-0 (2-2, 7-0) and thereby won the series 3-1.

For the first time since 1965 Vimpeli were crowned league champions, which ushered in a new golden age for Vimpeli that would be a constant threat for the championship for the remainder of the decade.

In the bronze series Sotkamo beat Oulu 2-1, giving Sotkamo some solace for the season but spelling disappointment for Oulu.

Relegation

At the conclusion of 2010 Superpesis said farewell to Ulvila after Joensuu won the relegation series 3-0. This was the lowest point in the decade for Joensuu, who very nearly tumbled out of Superpesis before it even began.

Elsewhere in the world

2010 saw many changes around the world, with the Arab spring risings causing unrest and political revolution across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the start of a coalition government in the UK and Julia Gillard ousting Tony Abbott as prime minister in Australia. In sport, Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics, where Finland won 1 silver and 4 bronze medals. The result was seen as below what Team Finland had hoped for at the outset of the tournament, although it was positive to see both men’s and women’s teams win bronze in ice hockey. In MLB the San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 to win the World Series.