Around the league - 5th August 2020


Manse celebrate with a 3 point win over Kankaanpää

Kankaanpään Maila v Manse PP, Tampere
0-2 (1-3, 2-3)

Kankaanpää have had some positive results so far this season, but Manse have also impressed in their debut season in Superpesis. Kankaanpää took a narrow victory over Manse only a few days ago and went on to take 3 points from a home win agains Kitee. Manse however recorded their first Superpesis win away to Kankaanpää on 7th July, so came looking for another victory. Whilst both of these teams lie at the bottom end of the table, they both have aspirations of making it into the playoffs this year and are playing with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. For much of the season, Manse’s Juuso Myllyniemi has led the league in successful hits and is a key component of Manse’s offence. 


It was the home team who registered the first run in the first jakso, thanks to Miikka Riikonen’s looping hit to deep right field, giving Jouni Itävalo time to reach home and beat the throw. Manse responded in the 2nd inning Tommi Malinen’s line drive to centre field beating the diving fielder to tie the jakso. JukkaTuomisto gave Manse the lead with a line drive similar to Malinen’s beating 3 fielders this time, as Ville Hotakainen had no trouble scoring. From there on out it was al Manse and Kankaanpää simply couldn’t mount a comeback. Manse got the insurance run in the 4th inning with Tuomas Tuohisaari scoring off Tommi Malinen’s hit was mishandled at the midfield line.


It was Kankaanpää again that opened the scoring in the second jakso; however Manse hung in the game and levelled the score again and again. The first run came from Riikonen’s bat once again in the 1st inning, with a hit that left the left outfielder having to accept that Miko Pauna would score. Manse’s Juha Niemi levelled the score in the bottom of the 1st inning with a powerfully hit to left field. Kari Kellokoski gave Kankaanpää the lead once more with a bouncing drive that was mishandled by the Manse shortstop, but Manse’s Tommi Malinen pulled his team back into contention with an RBI in the bottom of the 2nd inning. The decider came in the 3rd inning off the bat of Hille Hotakainen to secure a full 3 points for Manse.


This win marks another step forward for Manse, who have a genuine drive to make the playoffs. Whilst this wish my not come true for them, they certainly have made an impact in the league this year and have some good fundamentals to build on. Tommi Malinen had a solid day at the plate with 3 RBI from 6 attempts and 1 successful hit (from 1 attempt) at moving the point runner from 2nd to 3rd base. His RBI came at crucial moments in the game and secured the win for Manse when usual RBI machine and har hitter Juha Niemi was effectively managed by KaMa and held to just 1 RBI. Kankaanpää had little to offer at the plate and Petteri Alanen did another great job as pitcher for Manse. Defensively it was not a poor game from KaMa and Joona Lehtinen gave as solid a performance as pitcher for the home team, but Kankaanpää like dynamic run scoring players up and down the lineup and ultimately they couldn’t overcome Manse’s defence.


Kankaanpää continue to struggle against lower ranked teams, but overall they have some good moments; whether they are true contenders for a playoff spot when they are competing against teams like Kitee and Kempele remains to be seen. When looking at the other teams fighting for a playoff spot, they have a spark or key quality that makes them stand out and balances out some of their flaws; however when looking at Kankaanpää, they rarely show such a quality, but equally they don't have such obvious flaws.


Elsewhere in the league


4th August

Kitee turned their fortunes around with a 3 point win over KPL, outscoring them 12 runs to 6 over the two jakso. Jesse Eskelinen played at 3rd base rather than the pitcher’s role, but this seemed to make little difference, as KPL were outmuscled in the game after Kitee ran up a score of 8 runs in the first 2 innings of the first jakso. 


Vimpeli overcame a feisty offence from Hyvinkää for a 3 point win, where spectators at Saarikenttä were treated to a total of 31 runs, 19 of which came from Vimpeli’ bats. Elmeri Anttila had 2 home runs with 6 RBI in total, as well as having 6 runs to his name; when you consider that he was 16/17 at successfully moving the point runner, this was a truly magnificent game from him. With Juha Korhonen back in the lineup for Tahko after an injury, 4 RBI was a solid performance; however Vimpeli couldn't be kept from scoring and Vimpeli took the points.


Joensuu continued their winning streak with 3 points over IPV. Despite the game being kept tight, JoMa never looked as if they would lose, having scored 4 runs in the 1st inning of the first jakso.


5th August

SiiPe put on an outstanding performance to limit Kempele’s usually explosive batting line up to just 2 runs from 8 innings. SiiPe led the game early and never looked back to pick up 3 points. Siilinjärvi’s Mikko Hakomäki was an unlikely hero, batting 8th and picking up 2 RBI (his first multi-RBI game this season). 



4th August 2020

Kiteen Pallo -90 v Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat 

2-0 (8-4, 4-2)


Vimpelin Veto v Hyvinkään Tahko

2-0 (10-8, 9-4)


Imatran Pallo-Veikot v Joensuun Maila

0-2 (3-5, 0-2)


5th August 2020

Kempeleen Kiri v Siilinjärven Pesis

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


Photographs

Cover - (c) Manse PP, Tampere 2020

Photograph 2 - (c) Kankaanpään Maila 2020

Photograph 3 - (c) Kiteen Pallo -90 2020

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