The final series starts on Saturday, September 9. Sotkamo’s Jymy and Vimpelin Veto will play in the men’s final, Manse PP and Pori’s Pesäkarhut will meet in the women’s final. Puheen Urheilukierros follows the 1st final matches from 12:50 p.m.
The baseball season culminates in September, when both the men’s and women’s playoff series begin on Saturday, September 9. The top pairs of the regular season will meet in the finals, when Vimpel’s Veto and Sotkamo’s Jymy play in the men’s and Manse PP from Tampere and Pori’s Pesäkarhut play in the women’s.
Urheilu’s sport experts Sami Partanen and Antti Yli-Saunamäki in this article, we will tell you three points that you should follow during the final series. Partanen is responsible for men’s games and Yli-Saunamäki for women’s matches.
1. Common history, strong psyche
According to expert Sami Partanen, the long joint history of the teams is highlighted in the men’s final match series. Sotkamo and Vimpeli last met in the finals in the 2017 season. That series of finals was the seventh in a row between the teams.
According to Partanen, the indoor WC played in the winter showed that there is more to the game than just one final series. In the final match of the Halli-SM, Sotkamo beat Vimpel 2–1 in the penalty shootout.
– Baseball involves strong psychology or so-called mental warfare. It’s worth watching how it materializes in the finals.
Looking ahead, Vimpeli is a stronger champion candidate, but in the final series the settings will be searched again. Partanen estimates that Sotkamo, going into the games as an underdog, will have to think about how it will shake Vimpel.
– Two successful teams that don’t want to give up on the other. It provides ignition. Alternately, there has been another one that has gotten stronger, so it will certainly provide fuel for what is to come.
Partanen says that psychology can also affect the referee’s game: how much space is given to annoying the other person?
– I would bet that we will see the hottest final series in a long time.
2. Jokers
A joker is a player that the inning team can put into the inning at any point. During one inning, the team may use three wildcard players.
Although points come from progressions, i.e. runs, jokers often have a bigger impact on the final result.
– The game progresses, for better or for worse, through the Jokers. As someone who has followed baseball a little less, you should keep in mind that in no other sport does a substitute player have such great power, notes Partanen.
The teams are looking for leadoff situations and home runs for wildcards. At the start of the race, all three nests have a mover, the return stroke is enabling progression from the triple nest to the home nest.
– Jokers are the biggest single differentiating factor.
This season Sotkamon Roope Korhonen emerged as the best batsman of all time. Behind him on the list are Vimpelin in 5th place Jukka-Pekka Vainionpää and lyming in 6th place Janne Mäkelä. This season’s batting crown was also won by Korhonen, Vainionpää was second and Mäkelä was fourth.
Korhonen excels at Sotkamo, while Hannes Pekkinen and Aapo Komulainen are quite far from the top in batting statistics. According to Partanen, Vimpel’s game again culminates in jokers.
– The Jokers of the teams are quite evenly strong, but Vimpel has Mäkelä. He is the distinguishing factor.
3. Changing conditions and home field advantage
According to Partanen, it is also worth following the changing conditions and Vimpel’s home field advantage.
– Does the shot hit a tree or the corner of the advertising fence? Or does the rain make the equipment slippery? There are many variables in the sport that are not necessarily in one’s own hands, Partanen describes.
Vimpeli plays its home match at Saarikenta, which is challenging for the visitors. The field is on an island in the middle of Savonjoki. The ball can easily get stuck in the water. Breakthroughs from both the second and third nest are very likely to end up in the river.
– It wants to go so that when Vimpeli hits the ball into the river, the municipal councilor will come. But if the visitors manage to do the same, there won’t be so much frost. The pennant repels the balls better or retrieves them faster from the river.
According to Partanen, the home team does not have the same advantage at Sotkamo’s Hiukka baseball stadium.
– There, the game depends more on chance, i.e. whether the bounces are for or against. You can hardly prepare for that.
1. Advancers
Expert Antti Yli-Saunamäki says that in the women’s final between Manse PP and Pori Pesäkarhuje, the focus will be on the progression, i.e. the runs between the nests, like in the regular season. According to him, Manse is currently completely sovereign, but especially in its running power.
– From the point of view of the match series, the decisive thing is whether Pori can burn the insanely fast top of the Tampere team, i.e. the front four Saga-Angelia Raudasoja, Virpi Hukka, Kiira Kautto and Ella Korpela.
Yli-Saunamäki estimates that Manse has no need to change his game. In the final series, the responsibility of surprise lies with Pori, and especially with their outfield frontcourt players, who are Minttu Vettenranta, Emilia Eastern Light and Silja Syrjälä.
– Succeeding requires a pretty hard-headed game from Pori’s frontcourt, so that they have a chance to burn the forwards.
Manse went on a winning streak of 20 matches this season, which was interrupted in the second semi-final match against Lapuan Virkiä. In the 24-game regular season, Manse recorded 9.8 runs per game, while in the playoffs he has accumulated 12.4 runs per game. At Pori, the same figures are 8.5 and 6.7.
– Tampere has a really big difference in progression and imported runs compared to Pori. Their game template is so strong that it puts pressure on the opponent – regardless of the opponent.
2. Scoring runs
Hitting runs is strongly linked to progression. Even if you get to the triple nest, you still have to send the first one home. According to Yli-Saunamäki, Pori has been struggling a bit with this throughout the season.
– When they got repatriation opened, the team has been very good. But if Pori can’t score the first run, the game is easily blocked.
So who can beat Pori’s first run? According to the expert Pauliina Harinen, Tiia Peltonen and Emilia Linna are allowed to bear the responsibility. Yli-Saunamäki says that Manse will certainly keep Pori’s breakthroughs tight, but also doesn’t want to give individual home runs.
– It’s worth watching how Pori plays against Tampere’s striker Venla Tanhuaa against. Are they aggressive or cautious in repatriation?
The hitters in the final pair are quite balanced, but two Mansen players have been strikingly effective in the playoffs. Siri School has recorded one home run and 24 runs batted in. Virpi Hukka again, he is way ahead of the others with his 61 tip strokes, i.e. the stroke with which the furthest advancer can move between nests.
– When you look at the batting statistics of the playoffs, Eskola is second, Anna Ala-Kauhaluma in third place and also places 4 and 6 belong to the people of Tampere. If Pori can’t break the play of Manse’s forwards, and the good hitters can beat them in the home net, Tampere will take the series sovereignly.
If Pori can create pieces in their away game, i.e. the number of situations decreases and there are fewer home runs, the team has a chance to challenge Manse.
– Then Pori’s indoor game is enough to match Tampere’s runs. This is strongly connected to the first point, i.e. the forwards, because the multiplier effect of hits and runs is so great.
3. Breaking the home interest
Manse plays its matches at Kaupi and Pesäkarhut Pori baseball stadium. Both Pori and Tampere are known for the strong support of their home fans. Therefore, breaking the home advantage is emphasized in the final series. The games start in Tampere, so Pori has a bigger mountain to climb.
– Pori should win at least once in Tampere. But what is the means by which Pori goes on a robbery spree in Kaup?
Yli-Saunamäki describes that the court in Tampere is a little softer than, for example, in Pori. It significantly affects the behavior of small, i.e. short, hit balls on the field.
– It gives Manse greater opportunities to a certain extent. In Kaup, Mansen’s small Pori will have to perform really well if they want to burn Tampere’s fast team.
Yli-Saunamäki believes that there is a tight final series ahead, which will by no means be decided in three games. Even if the people from Tampere get “the ketchup bottle open” in the opening period, the people from Pori are able to equalize in the second period and win the match.
– Even if we see a few big running episodes from Manse’s side, it will not possibly affect the outcome of the game.
The baseball playoff series begins on Saturday, September 9. will show the men’s and women’s Superpesis finals from the third matches, i.e. 16.9. from
Updated 8:33: Corrected the story that during one inning, the team can use three players, not two, as it was wrongly stated earlier.