Around the league - 2nd July 2020

IPV edged out Joensuu in the season opener

Joensuun Maila v Imatran Pallo-Veikot 2nd July 2020

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

Joensuu open their season in a very different way than it was previously planned; instead of playing KPL in Spain at Fuengirola, it is the start of July and IPV are their opponents. Joensuu had won 6 of the last 8 games against IPV and the stage was set for a tough start for the Reds, given their convincing Halli-SM loss to Joensuu just over 4 months ago. But with the impact of coronavirus on the sport, it meant that there has been an unusually long break in play and training. Both teams were wearing their new jerseys, Joensuu in their “single sponsor” jersey and IPV in their recently revealed all white away kit.

Jussila was a big presence for
IPV on his return to Kerubi

In the first jakso very little separated the two teams, despite Joensuu stacking some of the leagues strongest players, this was definitely a defensive duel. The deadlock was finally broken in the bottom of the 4th inning with Mikko Kosonen’s line drive seeming to find a gap between 4 players to bring Tuomas Jussila sprinting home. The set up had been thanks to Sami Partanen successfully moving Jussila from 1st to 2nd and then to 3rd. A slick combination of different hitting techniques and Jussila’s speed and ability to read the game. IPV won the first jakso (0-1).

After the break it was Jussila again who reached home to put IPV in the lead, this time off Konsta Hyötyläinen’s hit in the 2nd inning. Down to their final out, IPV’s run went against the otherwise solid Joensuu defence. Hyötyläinen’s looping hit to right field found enough space for Jussila to bag his second run of the game. Joensuu were by no means out of the game and the mood lifted following a forced error at 2nd base gifting Konsta Piironen 3rd base; however Lauri Kivinen couldn't bring him home safely. The home crowd had the sense that a comeback was in the making, which finally happened in the 3rd inning when Juha Puhtimäki brought Konsta Kettunen home with his first hit finding space in centre field.  With the bases loaded and the fans cheering the home team on, Lauri Kivinen took Joensuu into the lead for the first time in the game when his line drive to left field left IPV almost standing still and gave Antti Hartikainen plenty of time to score. Joensuu won the second jakso (2-1).

After a scoreless supervuoro the teams faced off in a kotiutuskilpailu. Joensuu batted first, but struggled to bring runners home with Puhtimäki, Rautiainen, Kivinen and Hartikainen all coming up short. Joensuu’s only run came from Henri Litmanen who brought new signing Topi Hurskainen home. IPV wasted no time in putting runs on the board with both Sami Partanen and Juho Toivola bringing runners home to seal an away win. Partanen’s bunt hit down the right foul line was totally unexpected and left Joensuu scratching their heads as they had set a deep fielding position. Toivola’s short hit split the shortstop and 2nd baseman and within a flash the game was done.

Despite only going 50% (4/8) Tuomas Jussila seemed to be everywhere round the bases and a constant threat, in fact he scored the only runs for IPV in the 2 jakso. For Joensuu, Antti Hartikainen put in a solid performance (5/8 including going 3/3 at moving the point runner to 3rd base), but Lauri Kivinen perhaps gave the fans the most exciting moment of the game when his hit brought Hartikainen home. Overall the telling statistic is the 3rd base situations. Joensuu did well to limit IPV to just 6 in the game, but IPV capitalised on 2 of them and was enough to force the game to extra innings. Joensuu on the other hand converted only twice from 13 3rd base situations, highlighting the gaps Jussila and Juha Niemi have left. In such a tight and low scoring game, chances have to be seized and Joensuu just struggled to bring their runners home. It is perhaps therefore no surprise that IPV found the edge to win the game when it came down to a kotiutuskilpailu (scoring contest). 

Joensuu are clear favourites to retain the championship this year, but this game proves that in a shortened season and short post season series, anything can happen. If a team can take an away win like this, the pressure is on to then win both of the remaining games. 

• 

  JoMa - IPV

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

  

  0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	1
  0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	2

  Yleisöä: 1736

Lyöntijärjestysclick to collapse contents

•  Joensuun Maila

  pj:Mikko Korhonen, Antti Väistö

  3-tilanteet:13, harhat:0, vapaat:0

  		#	Pelaaja	Up	Ly	Tu	KL	1%	2%	3%	K%	KL %	P
  		1	Konsta Kettunen	2V		1	3/5	3/5				60%
  		2	Topi Hurskainen	3K			4/5		4/5			80%
  		3	Antti Hartikainen	3V		1	5/8	0/1	2/3	3/3	0/1	62%	I
  		4	Juha Puhtimäki	L	1		4/6			3/4	1/2	67%
  		5	Henri Litmanen	3P			0/4		0/1	0/1	0/2	0%
  		6	Lauri Kivinen	2K	1		5/6	2/2	1/1	1/1	1/2	83%
  		7	Samuel Tirkkonen	S			1/3		1/2	0/1		33%
  		8	Simo Rahunen	1V			0/2	0/1		0/1		0%
  		9	Iiro Kuosa	2P			0/2		0/1		0/1	0%
  		10	Konsta Piironen				2/4	2/4				50%
  		11	Aleksi Rautiainen				0/6			0/1	0/5	0%
  		12	Simo Vainikainen				3/4	2/3	1/1			75%
  					2	2	27/55	9/16	9/14	7/12	2/13	49%

   Imatran Pallo-Veikot

  pj:Jyrki Valle, Arttu Vilander

  3-tilanteet:6, harhat:0, vapaat:0

  		#	Pelaaja	Up	Ly	Tu	KL	1%	2%	3%	K%	KL %	P
  		1	Teemu Nurmio	3K			3/8	3/8				38%
  		2	Tuomas Jussila	2P		2	4/8	3/4	1/4			50%	I
  		3	Sami Partanen	1V			6/6		3/3	3/3		100%
  		4	Mikko Kosonen	3P	1		1/3	0/1		0/1	1/1	33%
  		5	Konsta Hyötyläinen	2V	1		3/5	1/1	0/1	1/2	1/1	60%
  		6	Ville Hämäläinen	3V			4/8	3/6	1/1		0/1	50%
  		7	Joona Sikiö	L			2/5	0/1	2/4			40%
  		8	Miitri Pesonen	S			1/1			1/1		100%
  		9	Ville-Markus Kosonen	2K			0/1				0/1	0%
  		10	Juho Toivola				1/7			1/5	0/2	14%
  		11	Juuso Lattu				2/8	0/3	2/5			25%
  		12	Jani Raami				3/5	3/5				60%
  					2	2	30/65	13/29	9/18	6/12	2/6	46%

Elsewhere in the league

Sotkamo lost to Kempele in a disappointing
opening game for the 2019 finalists

As Joensuu fell short against IPV and Vimpeli stumbled against Seinäjoki, Sotkamo were left puzzled when Kempele stole the game. The results give hope to a number of the teams who found themselves on the wrong end of the table in 2019, but highlight some fundamental shifts in terms of the balance of power in the league. Are Vimpeli and Sotkamo still the titans of the game? Well it is far too early to discount their chances, but one thing is clear - both teams are in a state of transition as the “old guard” move on and the new players attempt to continue their legacy. Vimpeli were simply outplayed in the end by a ruthless Seinäjoki, whereas Sotkamo seemed to be lost in the wilderness against a side many are tipping to be at the bottom end of the table. 

In Siilinjärvi, Pattijoki looked like a sure thing to pick up 3 points on paper before the game started; however SiiPe dug in and shut down PattU to keep the first jakso tied at 2-2. Whilst Sami Haapakoski slotting into 4th in PattU’s lineup, runs remained fairly difficult to come by and the visitors edged SiiPe 1-2 in the second jakso to win the game. SiiPe will be frustrated to have come so close to taking a major scalp, only to suffer the loss, npbut this was an encouraging start for a team that many believe would finish bottom of the league this season.

The other game on opening day was Hyvinkää v Kankaanpää. In almost a reversal of fortunes from their training match against KPL, Hyvinkää shut out Kankaanpää and won both jakso. Following the KPL practice game, many fans were left scratching their heads about the basic fielding issues that seemed to haunt them. Whilst Kankaanpää are not KPL and don’t have the same firepower, it will be a welcome relief to those at Pihkala that the team have tightened their operation in the field. With all that said, Hyvinkää are perhaps shaping up to be one of the more curious teams this season, producing big scores (such as their practice game against Manse) one moment and the next getting run around in the field (such as their practice game against KPL). In their game against Kankaanpää they had a worryingly low percentage at moving the point runner - 40% and had fewer 3rd base situations (10 compared to Kankaanpää’s 14), yet they managed to capitalise on their chances and win the game.

So what have we learnt from opening day? Well if anyone wasn’t excited about the season already then I don’t think anyone can help them. My co-host on the podcast Ron Bronson said in the June episode that we should “expect the unexpected” and that the season would be wild - I think he was right! My other Co-host Mikko Pirhonen said that teams in the post season might want to avoid IPV especially if they have Jussila (who scored both of IPV’s runs) and Sami Partanen (who was 100% 6/6 in the game) playing healthy - he was right too! I wonder if they have any tips for lottery numbers...

2nd July

Vimpelin Veto v Seinäjoen JymyJussit

1-2s (7-2, 3-5, 0-1)

Siilinjärven Pesis v Pattijoen Urheilijat

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

Hyvinkään Tahko v Kankaanpään Maila

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

Sotkamon Jymy v Kempeleen Kiri

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

Photographs:

Cover - (c) Imatran Pallo-Veikot 2020

Picture 2 - (c) Joensuun Maila 2020

Picture 3 - (c) Sotkamon Jymy 2020