Around the league - 13th August 2020
Kitee power past SiiPe as they close in on 4th in the table
Siilinjärven Pesis v Kiteen Pallo -90
0-2 (2-5, 0-3)
This is an interesting matchup and comes at a time when Kitee and SiiPe are in good form. Kitee had won 3 straight games until their narrow kotiutuskilpailu loss to Joensuu on Tuesday this week. Their wins included a big win against KPL that came as a kick start to their second half of the season. Coming into this game Kitee are 5th in the league and looking to cement their place in the playoffs. SiiPe have won 2 of their last 4 games 2-0 and narrowly lost to Vimpeli in a scoring contest. Despite SiiPe sitting at the bottom of the table, they are only 6 points behind 7th and 8th place. In the last meeting between these 2 teams (which was also a featured game on the blog), Kitee won 1-0 after failing to capitalise on winning the first jakso.
In the buildup to the game however, the Pesäpallo Association announced that the result on 11th August between SiiPe and Koskenkorva would be altered due to an ineligible player. Matias Litmanen joined Siilinjärvi on a fixed term loan from Sotkamo, but had not been formally declared to the league. The loan has now ended and Litmanen has left to return to Sotkamo’s organisation. The rule allows for any results to be altered within 3 days and the 11th August result now gives Koskenkorva 3 points and deducts 3 from SiiPe. SiiPe’s game with IPV on 9th August is unchanged due to the fact that IPV won 0-2.
Kitee got going early in the 1st inning with Valentin Ikonen’s line drive to centre field just clearing the shortstop and bringing Elmeri Purmonen home to score. Sami Mikkolanaho made it 0-2 to the visitors with a hit to the midfield line, where Samu-Kalle Varonen beat a rushed throw to home that went over the pitcher’s head. Teemu Kinnunen gave SiiPe their first run in the bottom of the 1st inning with a line drive into space in left field. Sami Mikkolanaho restored Kitee’s 2 run lead in the second inning with a deep hit to left field giving pitcher Jesse Eskelinen time to reach home comfortably. SiiPe were not out of the game yet and kept in step with Kitee, scoring in the bottom of the 2nd inning thanks to Teemu Kinnunen’s bunt hit to 1st base being misfielded by Kitee’s Hannes Pekkinen. It was in the 3rd inning however that Kitee put the jakso to rest and brought the score to 2-5 thanks to RBIs from Valentin Ikonen and Sami Mikkolanaho.
Tommi Piirainen in his last game for SiiPe
The second jakso saw little in the way of runs scored, but one player seemed virtually unstoppable - Valentin Ikonen, who racked up 3 more RBI for Kitee and was the only player on either side to bring a runner home in the second jakso. Ikonen’s first RBI came in the 1st inning with a soft line drive finding the gaps to right field. Ikonen’s second RBI came in the 2nd inning with a hit that narrowly landed in right field to allow Jesse Eskelinen to score.
Ikonen’s final RBI of the game sealed the win for Kitee in the 3rd inning with a solo home run off a bouncing hit to the right field foul line that leapt over SiiPe’s catcher. SiiPe were unable to get anything going in the 4th inning and the game was done. Siilinjärvi were held to just 2 runs in the first 2 innings of the game.
Both sides had fairly even chances to score, but Kitee’s success rate at moving the point runner was significantly better (61% compared to SiiPe’s 46%). Valentin Ikonen was phenomenal in the game, going 5/6 with runners on 3rd base, including a home run and was the only player to bring runners home for either side in the second jakso. Siilinjärvi’s leadoff hitter, Ville Lantiainen had a perfect 7/7 to 1st base, but SiiPe where unable to capitalise on their 3rd base situations, scoring only twice from 12.
Kitee now sit firmly in 5th in the table thanks to 3 well earned points against SiiPe. The atmosphere at the game was marred by the bad news received regarding the Koskenkorva result, before Kitee won both jakso. The impact of the decision and today’s game means that SiiPe have 0 out of a possible 6 points from their 2 games and lie slightly adrift at the bottom off the table.
Siilinjärven Pesis
| # | Pelaaja | Up | Ly | Tu | KL | 1% | 2% | 3% | K% | KL % | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kiteen Pallo -90
| # | Pelaaja | Up | Ly | Tu | KL | 1% | 2% | 3% | K% | KL % | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elsewhere in the league
13th August
Kankaanpää turned their fortunes around with a shock home win against Vimpeli. After tying the first jakso 2-2, the visitors were under pressure to salvage a win, but Kankaanpää’s Petteri Kortelainen scored 2 RBIs in the second jakso to claim victory. Topias Lilja was 100% successful at the plate, with 5/5 at moving the point runner for Kankaanpää.
Hyvinkää showed signs of recovery in a 2-0 win over IPV to boost their chances of a place in the top 8. Juha Korhonen’s return to the Tahko batting lineup after his injury earlier this season has been a welcome relief for a team that has conceded so many runs; in this game he had a staggering 7 RBI including a home run to overshadow excellent performances from IPV’s Tuomas Jussila and Sami Partanen.
Kankaanpään Maila v Vimpelin Veto
1-0 (2-2, 2-1)
Hyvinkään Tahko v Imatran Pallo-Vekot
2-0 (8-5, 5-1)
Photographs
Cover - (c) Kiteen Pallo -90 2020
Photograph 2 - (c) Siilinjärven Pesis 2020
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