Around the league - 20th August 2020

A game of 2 halves sees a mix of both excellent and disastrous fielding for both teams

Hyvinkään Tahko v Vimpelin Veto
0-2 (0-6, 3-4)

Hyvinkää have been building on their performances since the return of Juha Korhonen after an injury sidelined him for a couple of weeks. The comeback comes at the critical moment in the season when teams are jostling for position before the end of the season in just 2 weeks time. Vimpeli have continued to show flashes of brilliance this season, but there are occasions in matches where the game has slipped away from them.


In the first jakso, Hyvinkää came to bat swinging, but finding nothing but Vimpeli shirts. It seemed every gap on the pitch was shut down and all of a sudden Pihkala seemed very small - that is, of course, until Vimpeli came to the plate. With the bases loaded, a bunt hit was fielded and thrown by Hyvinkää’s 1st baseman, only for the throw to 3rd go over the 3rd baseman’s head and scamper off for 2 runs. With runs on the board already, the 2nd inning saw 2 home runs (kunniajuoksu) that left Hyvinkää dead an buried. The first came as a solo blast by Jere Saukko that followed almost he same path as the wild throw in the 1st inning. The second home run came off the back of a big at bat for Perttu Ruuska, who brought home Jere Saukko and Mikko Kanala off separate hits before his well placed shot that ran off through 1st and 3rd base once more. For the remainder of the jakso, Hyvinkää were shut out and simply couldn’t get runners into scoring positions.


In the second jakso a miscommunication and coming together of Hyvinkää’s catcher and 2nd baseman in the 1st inning gave Mikko Kanala time to score from Matias Rinta-aho’s short hit. The fielding errors continued for Hyvinkää, as their right shortstop failed to collect the ball from a soft hit to the midfield line by Rinta-aho in the same inning, allowing Jere Saukko to score. The bottom of the 1st inning gave Tahko their first run of the game when an unexpected opportunity came from a wild throw by pitcher Perttu Ruuska, who overthrew the ball to 1st base after chasing down a bunt hit. Vile Rämet levelled the score for Hyvinkää to round of the inning with an unforced error in the outfield. Rämet’s high hit went straight to centre field, but a lack of organisation in the backfield saw it drop harmlessly and bounce off beyond the scoreboard to allow Santtu Patova to score from 2nd base. With the score still tied at 2-2 going into the 4th inning, Vimpeli eased the pressure and regained the lead with 2 RBIs from Perttu Ruuska and Janne Mäkelä. Hyvinkää’s Juha Korhonen had been shut down for the game and he finally broke through to score in the bottom of the 4th inning, but it was simply not enough to force extra innings and Vimpeli breathed a sigh of relief to take away 3 points.


Vimpeli did what they do best in the first jakso and scored early and often when at the plate and plugged the gaps in the field when fielding. Despite Hyvinkää’s re-invigorated performances of late, the first jakso seemed out of reach from the moment Vimpeli came in to bat. The second jakso was far more competitive and gave some comfort to Tahko fans, but it simply wasn’t to be and another stellar performance from Perttu Ruuska (4 RBI including a home run and 73% success rate at moving the point runner) was enough to see Vimpeli take 3 points. Vimpeli outplayed Hyvinkää in almost every category (statistically  speaking) throughout the game; however it was truly a “game of 2 halves” when watching it. Vimpeli’s efforts at running the bases saw them have more than double the 3rd base situations compared to Hyvinkää (20 compared to 9) and the pressure simply couldn't be held back throughout the game. Without a solid number of 3rd base situations, Vimpeli were able to hold Hyvinkää’s Juha Korhonen to a single RBI in the game and dismantle their attack.


Vimpeli had a great start in this game, but the second jakso almost swung in favour of Hyvinkää. It’s tough to know how Vimpeli will stack up in the post season when they are able to put some solid (and at times unbelievable) scores on the board one game and then in another end up losing to a mediocre Kankaanpää performance. One thing is for sure though - if you like entertaining games that have you on the edge of your seat, Vimpeli has got you covered.


 Hyvinkään Tahko

pj:Miika Rantatorikka 2 Pj. Juuso Kerola
3-tilanteet:9, harhat:1, vapaat:0
#PelaajaUpLyTuKL1%2%3%K%KL %P 
1Patrik Vartama2P2/81/61/225%
2Santtu Patova3V13/52/31/260%
3Jere Vikström2V25/82/22/51/162%IA
4Teemu Nikkanen3K7/101/12/44/570%
5Kalle-Tapio HuuskoL2/62/30/20/133%II
6Teemu Rouhiainen2K3/73/50/10/143%
7Lauri Vierimaa1V3/83/60/238%
8Riku Hokkanen3P1/30/21/133%
9Kristian MalikineS1/21/10/150%
10Juha Korhonen12/41/10/11/250%
11Ville Rämet12/40/21/11/150%
12Jere Harjuvaara0/50/10/20/20%
2331/7012/259/238/152/744%

 Vimpelin Veto

pj:Markku Hylkilä 2 Pj. Ismo Ankkuri
3-tilanteet:20, harhat:2, vapaat:0

#PelaajaUpLyTuKL1%2%3%K%KL %P 
1Ville Takala3P1/71/714%
2Mikko Kanala2V45/72/23/571%
3Elmeri Anttila3K6/74/42/386%
4Perttu RuuskaL1+318/112/22/44/573%I
5Matias Rinta-ahoS24/80/22/32/350%
6Juho Heikkala3V12/62/30/10/10/133%
7Olli Heikkala1V2/41/21/10/150%
8Viljo Sillanpää2K0/10/10%
9Severi Lassila2P
10Jere Saukko1+048/94/52/21/11/189%II
11Mikko Vihriälä2/31/21/167%
12Janne Mäkelä13/90/10/12/21/533%
2+61041/7210/2112/1911/168/1657%

Elsewhere in the league


19th August

IPV gave PattU a headache in a game that was decided by a scoring contest. Pattijoki has struggled for most of the season and this has meant that they have fallen out of the top 8. IPV are equally battling for a spot in the top 8, but seem to have more energy and hope about them. In the first jakso IPV dominated and really put PattU under pressure; however a big start to the second jakso by Juuso Keski-Koukkari steadied the ship with a total of 5 RBI (including a bases loaded home run) in the first 2 innings. In the end however it was down to the depth of scoring options that made the difference as PattU still struggle to score up and down the lineup.


20th August

Joensuu know how to entertain a crowd... 
Joensuu continued to impress in front of the home crowd as PattU were dished another blow to their playoff hopes. Joensuu commanded the game defensively and Pattijoki were limited to just 1 run for the entire game. PattU’s tough road trip through the eastern group teams continues...


After a tight first jakso, that looked as if it could go either way, Seinäjoki’s single run in he 1st inning proved decisive. The floodgates opened for Seinäjoki in the second jakso however and a 6 run 2nd inning secured the win and a well received 3 points.


Imatran Pallo-Veikot v Pattijoen Urheilijat, Raahe

2-1k (6-1, 1-8, 1-1, 2-1)


Joensuun Maila v Pattijoen Urheilijat, Raahe

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


Seinäjoen JymyJussit v Siilinjärven Pesis 

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


Photographs 
Cover - (c) Hyvinkään Tahko 2020
Photograph 2 - (c) Hyvinkään Tahko 2020
Photograph 3 - (c) Joensuun Maila 2020

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