Superpesis roundup

The regular season has ended and the top 8 teams now know their opponents for the first round.   (1) Manse PP v (7) IPV The star studded Manse side finished top in the regular season and gained the privilege of choosing their first round opponents before anyone else. Manse chose 7th place IPV ahead of the team that finished in 8th (PattU). IPV have had their greatest season in 28 years, when they last made it to the playoffs. The powerful Manse lineup is likely to obliterate IPV, but the reds are in high spirits and their story may continue if they pull off the seemingly impossible once again. Prediction: Manse 3 - 0 IPV (2) Vimpeli v (8) PattU Vimpeli have continued to look impressive at the plate and Sarrikenttä has been a tough place for opponents to visit - especially if they didn’t bring enough dry pairs of socks! PattU’s season has been fairly pedestrian and their final position in the top 8 came as a shock to many, in particular given the fact that they won their fina...

Sotkamo were top of the class this year, but their performance wasn’t all plain sailing Places 1-5 Now that the season has finished, it is take to take a look back at how the teams performed in 2020. This first post focuses on the top 5 as they finished in the regular season and considers how they performed in the postseason. Some general observations for the top 5: Joensuu had the world at their feet coming into the postseason, and they feared no opponents. With a winning streak that went to 23 games in total, they looked almost unstoppable, only their local rivals (Kitee) proved to be a challenge. But the bubble burst with a short series against KPL who unlocked Joensuu’s defence at Kerubi in game 1 and Joensuu imploded, losing to KPL and the bronze series to Vimpeli. There was clearly a lot of expectation in the Joensuu ranks, as there had been all year, but a spirited KPL were determined to seize the moment. The moment however may never have been, if Kitee had clinched the se...

Perttu Ruuska valiantly tried to keep Vimpeli in the hunt, but Sotkamo were just too much to handle Joensuun Maila (1) v Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat (4) Review: Joensuu’s winning streak came to a dramatic end when KPL won Game 1 in a scoring contest (kotiutuskilpailu). After 2 RBI’s from Aleksi Rautiainen in the 1st and 3rd inning, KPL were held scoreless and it looked like “business as usual” for Joensuu, taking the first jakso. The second jakso however saw KPL put the first score on the board as Tommi Mäentausta reached home off Matti Latvala’s hit. Despite 2 more RBI from Aleksi Rautiainen, Joensuu could do nothing more than level the score by the bottom of the 4th inning. KPL then secured the jakso with a Matti Latvala RBI to face the extra inning. The supervuoro was scoreless and the game went to a scoring contest. Reminiscent of Joensuu’s opening loss to IPV, KPL scored the only run in the Kotiutuskilpailu to put them in the driving seat for the series when Tommi Mäentausta was bro...

Can anyone stop Joensuu? Or are they Untouchable... Joensuun Maila (1) v Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat (4) Head to head: Joensuu continues to dominate, but now they face some serious competition in the form of KPL. Both of this season’s games between these 2 teams saw Joensuu take away 3 points comfortably, you may be forgiven in thinking that this will be an easy win for JoMa; however KPL have a lot of experience and talent in their ranks. Historically, the matchup has been 6-4 in favour of Joensuu, although KPL’s last win came on 30th May 2019.  Form: I will repeat what I said in the last preview for Joensuu - their form is immaculate; they haven’t lost a game since 9th July this year! That’s now 23 straight victories. Whilst their wins against PattU in the quarterfinals were not the most elegant, Joensuu manage to do exactly enough to win games. KPL seemed to step up a gear in the post season, brushing off a slightly muted end to what promised to be. KPL put some solid numbers up ...

KPL overcome a competitive Kitee side to advance Joensuun Maila (1) v Pattijoen Urheilijat, Raahe (8) Review: Joensuu maintain their winning streak and advance to the quarterfinals. PattU showed grit and determination to make it into the top 8 at the end of a frustrating season for them; however their chances against Joensuu were always slim. In Game 1 confidently took a 4-0 lead in the the first jakso, leaving PattU to climb a mountain. A conciliation run from Juuso Keski-Koukkari was all PattU could do to dent the reigning champions lead. The second jakso however was quite different; PattU came to the plate with clear heads and Juuso Keski-Koukkari drove Miikka Matikka home to give his team a 0-1 lead that lasted until the 4th inning when a wild throw saved Joensuu from extra innings. With the second jakso tied, PattU struggled to mount an attack and keep the game alive - the story of their season. In Game 2, the first jakso had echoes of the end to game 1, where this time Jari T...

  Can Kitee turn a newly refurbished Rantakentä into a field of dreams? Joensuun Maila (1) v Pattijoen Urheilijat, Raahe (8) Head to head: Joensuu hold all the cards in this matchup - PattU has only beaten them once since 2015, which was on 30th July 2019. Whilst Pattijoki tied the first jakso in their first of the 2 games against JoMa this season on 18th July, they have posed no real threat to one of the most solid defences in the league. Form: Joensuu’s form is immaculate; they haven’t lost a game since 9th July this year! That’s 21 straight victories. Curiously both of Joensuu’s losses this season have been at home, so they have 100% away record. In their last 5 games, Joensuu dropped points to IPV and Kitee, but went 2-0 in the other 3 games - including their most recent game against PattU on 20th August. PattU’s form has been pretty poor all season; however they have won 4 of their last 5 games (their last defeat in fact was against Joensuu). Prediction: Joensuu to win 2-0....

Vimpeli blank KPL to show that they are a force to be reckoned with As the chances to make it into the top 8 are running out for most teams, it’s time to get to make a final push for the end of the season. Here are last week’s performance rankings: 1st Vimpelin Veto Vimpeli have been an interesting project to watch this season and the pieces have been coming together for some time. Despite some losses to teams like Kankaanpää, which have been tough to explain, Vimpeli proved that they are the full package and are capable of anything this season when they beat KPL 2-0 at home and stopped KPL from scoring in the entire game. Perttu Ruuska is performing extremely well at the plate and as a pitcher. Vimpeli’s explosive offence has left teams on the back foot against a very challenging defence. The only question that remains is how will they perform against Joensuun, who they won’t face in the regular season. 2nd Kiteen Pallo-90 Kitee continue to be the most exciting development for 2...

Hyvinkää storm back into the top 8 with key wins over IPV and KPL There was one result last week that changed as a result of an ineligible player. This has a significant impact on teams at the top and bottom of the performance rankings, so I have had to apply a bit of thought to how to deal with the Siilinjärvi v Koskenkorva result... 1st Hyvinkään Tahko Hyvinkää needed a big performance to lift themselves up into the playoff spots and last week they certainly got that. With 2 wins from 2 games, scoring 5 out of a possible 6 points, this was a solid week for Tahko - especially when you realise that one win came against KPL. Pihkala is known for its run scoring potential and so far this season Hyvinkää had struggled to stop their opponents exploiting this and have the most runs conceded in the league. Last week however they managed to power past both KPL and IPV with Juha Korhonen’s 7 RBI against IPV and Teemu Nikkanen’s perfect 8/8 at moving the point runner, including 4 RBI agains...

There is plenty to be happy about at Joensuu this week With a huge 24 games last week, most teams had good and bad results, but who came out on top? Here are last weeks performance rankings. 1st Joensuun Maila Joensuu remain top of the performance rankings with 4 victories last week, dropping only 1 point across their games. Joensuu haven’t lost a game since 12th July when they lost to Kitee. The victory over KPL on Sunday was the real reason why Joensuu remain top of the power rankings.  2nd Kiteen Pallo -90 Kitee struggled coming into last week, with a run of poor results that saw them plummet down the table. Last week however, Kitee’s fortunes turned around with a win over KPL that saw their confidence return. From that win they beat IPV and Kankaanpää with maximum points. All of a sudden Kitee are back in the mix and actually sit 5th in the table. 3rd Vimpelin Veto Vimpeli are at full steam right now and boast 4 different players with 20 or more RBI so far this season...

Joensuu have good reason to celebrate after dominating against Sotkamo last week As we reach halfway through the season the push is on now for the playoff spots. Here are last weeks performance rankings. 1st Joensuun Maila Joensuu were on fine form last week with 2 huge wins over Sotkamo that restored a lot of faith in their status as favourites to win the championship. With 8 points out of a possible 9 last week it would have been good enough to reach the top end of the rankings regardless of who their opponents were; however 5 of those points came from wins over the league leading Sotkamo team that hadn’t lost a game since their initial game against Kempele.  2nd Vimpelin Veto Vimpeli have been building their season and are starting to put some solid results together. It may sound like taking 3 points from a game against Koskenkorva is easy; however KoU have started to put results together and have been threatening to join the fight for the top 8. Vimpeli have some key q...

It’s time for the team’s mid-season reviews - who is top of the class? Who has to stay behind and study harder? Places 1-5 Usually I would give each team a mid-season review at the East v West game, but the end of July this year seemed like a good natural point (or rather 2nd August). I will cover this in 3 separate posts rather than all 14 teams in one go. Some general observations for the top 5: In my opinion you can split these into Joensuu, Sotkamo and KPL (serious contenders), Vimpeli (outside contenders), Seinäjoki (doing “good enough”). I would be very surprised if Joensuu don't make the final and equally socked if their opponents aren’t either KPL or Sotkamo. If anyone is going to spoil that party it is going to be Vimpeli - I just don’t see Seinäjoki as championship material this year, although I have been somewhat impressed with some of their performances. Joensuu has had the benefit of playing both KPL and Sotkamo so far this season, whereas KPL and Sotkamo will not meet...