Monthly Archives: September 2018

Baby Sharks Shut Down Parents in Walk-off Win

September is coming to a close and so is the baseball season. While the Elitserien finals are being played in Leksand, the place to be was Shark Park, where the Baby Sharks hosted their parents for one last game of 5 innings, defying the hurricane winds of Knud. And what a game it was…

Clearly there was some tension between the teams, and the score was 1-1 after the first inning. The veterans showed patience when the nerves were still playing a big part in the third inning, and the oldies took a 4-1 lead. In the fourth, the lead was reduced to 4-3, and the Baby Sharks had a runner on third when the last out of the inning was made.

Signs of fatigue were clearly noted, both by sight and sound on the parental team, as the Baby Sharks shut out their parents in the fifth, only allowing four batters to go to the plate. With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, the Baby Sharks tied the game on a wild pitch, and the next batter ended the game with a walk off single, final score being 5-4.

“We saw fantastic plays from both teams today, and it is clear that the Baby Sharks are not the only ones to have improved their baseball skills this 2018 season,”  says Rickard Kronqvist, head coach of the Baby Sharks. “The parents really impressed me. As for the game itself, it was the most exciting game I have experienced since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.”

Sharks end season with split in Skövde

The Sharks closed out the regular season Sunday in Skövde with a 14-6 win and a 10-9 loss. The games reflected the season on the whole, with a mix of solid baseball and not-so-solid play, but still exciting to the end with Skövde coming out on top in a seesaw, extra-inning battle in game 2.

With both Alby and Tranås declining spots in the playoffs beginning next weekend in distant Umeå, it was enough with a split of the doubleheader to earn a playoff spot. But with the Sharks unable to put together a full team for the journey to Umeå, Gothenburg will also be staying home this year, leaving the field open to Skellefteå, Enskede and Umeå in the first round of the 2018 playoffs.

“It has been tough to field nine players at a couple of games this year,” says coach Jonny Edgren. “And though we see some individual improvements, as a team we did not reach the level of play we did last year.”

Gothenburg will be looking into wrapping up the season with a couple of SWBL games September 15-16, if Malmö and Tranås are interested.