by Thommy Brolin
The second to last series in the Swedish Elitserien turned out to just as exciting as everyone expected, and settled the competition for two of the three playoff spots that was still open.
Rättvik clinched one of the spots by beating Tranås in two games. The score in the first contest was a close 9–7 for the home team, and the second was less of a contest with an 18–7 home win. Mattias Stenis got the win, and Peter Jansson the crucial save in the first game. Philippe Longchamps homered in this game (he hit a foul ball with homerun length on one pitch, followed by the real homerun on the next pitch). Nick Johnson got the win, and also homered, in the second game. Adeyinka Adewusi homered for Tranås in that game. At the same time as the two wins for Rättvik meant that they secured their spot in the playoffs, it also meant that Tranås lost their chances to advance to the post season.
Stockholm was the second team that clinched a playoff spot, although in a less convincing manner than Rättvik. Stockholm’s woes of late continued in the first game of their doubleheader away to Gefle, as the home team surprisingly won 5–4. Mikael Boström got the win for Gefle with eight strong innings, and Magnus Hedberg got the save with a scoreless ninth. Oskar Thorsberg provided the necessary offense for Gefle by going four-for-four, and Patrik Wibron played superbly in leftfield. Magnus Pilegård homered for Stockholm. Stockholm had to wait to the second game to get the 16–1 win that clinched their spot. The game was decided in the seventh inning when Stockholm scored twelve runs, having lead 4–1 after six. Stockholm was predicted to win both games, but Gefle, who has beaten Rättvik and played very close games with Karlskoga lately, again showed their potential win the win in the series opener. Stockholm has had quite a few eye-raising losses in the few weeks, and is only 4–7 over their last eleven games.
Leksand, who looked to be more or less out of contention August 10 after loosing their series to Sundbyberg and Tranås, continued their strong comeback by splitting the doubleheader win league leaders Karlskoga, and playoff is now a strong possibility for Leksand, although they need help from Rättvik in doing so. Leksand got a comeback win with two deciding runs in the bottom of the ninth of the first game to make the final score 4–3. The rubber game of the series was exactly as close as the first, but this time Karlskoga scored the winning run in the top of the ninth, and Leksand failed to answer in the bottom of the frame and Karlskoga won 3–2. Rikard Blomqvist got the win in relief for Leksand in the first game (2 IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K), and Kent Karlsson got a complete game victory for Karlskoga in the second (5H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 2K).
Sundbyberg managed to get the predicted two wins against Alby, but far more work was needed than what was expected. The first game ended 12–11, and the second was somewhat less of a nail-biter for Sundbyberg as they won 9–4. Sundbyberg has won the season series against Alby 3–1, but has been outscored 35–31 in the process. The double wins for Sundbyberg means that their hopes for a playoff spot is very much alive.
Summing up the weekend we see that Rättvik and Stockholm clinched their playoff spots, and that Tranås fell out of the race.
The battle that remains is between Leksand and Sundbyberg. Sundbyberg is one game ahead of Leksand, and as Sundbyberg has won the season series with Leksand 3–1, they need only one win in the last home series against Rättvik to move on into the end-season. Leksand, who plays away to late-blooming Gefle, need to sweep that two-game series at the same time as Rättvik sweeps Sundbyberg to move into fourth spot in the table.
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | R+ | R- | .pct | GB | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karlskoga Bats | 20 | 8 | 235 | 132 | .714 | 0 | W2 |
| 2 | Rättvik | 19 | 9 | 282 | 142 | .678 | 1 | W1 |
| 3 | Stockholm | 18 | 10 | 232 | 155 | .642 | 2 | L1 |
| 4 | Sundbyberg Heat | 16 | 12 | 248 | 200 | .571 | 4 | L1 |
| 5 | Leksand | 16 | 12 | 194 | 154 | .571 | 4 | W2 |
| 6 | Tranås | 15 | 13 | 223 | 205 | .535 | 5 | W2 |
| 7 | Gefle | 5 | 23 | 100 | 347 | .178 | 15 | L3 |
| 8 | Alby | 3 | 25 | 104 | 283 | .107 | 17 | L16 |
So the table is set for the last series of the season. Two wins for Leksand combined with two losses for Sundbyberg means Leksand reaches the playoffs. Every other outcome means Sundbyberg advances into the post season!
With everything at stake it will be more than your normal series, and very tough to speculate over the outcome. Gefle has been impressive over the last weeks, and a Leksand sweep is by now means a certainty. Sundbyberg has their fate in their own hands, and I think they will be strong enough to win one of the games, and one win is all they need to clinch the final spot.
