Tag Archives: Gothenburg Sharks

Welcome to the 2015 season!

So the Schedule for the 2015 season is official. The first game of the season is away vs Botkyrka on the 2:nd of May. Gothenburg Sharks won the last series of the season, the series to stay in the Elitserien vs Botkyrka. It so happened that Karlskoga Bats decided to leave the Elitseries and reboot in the second division. Bokyrka took Karlskogas spot. This season starts how the last one ended, versus Botkyrka.

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The home opener will be a week later, the 9th of May vs Leksand Lumberjacks. Leksand lost the championship to Stockholm in the 5th and final game of the final series.

The history repeats itself

The Gothenburg Sharks will have to face Karlskoga Bats once again the upcoming weekend. The teams met at Shark Park just more than a week ago in a double header where Karlskoga Bats won both games. Even though the numbers were greatly in favor of Karlskoga the games were closer than the numbers were. Gothenburg will travel to Karlskoga for the three game series to directly stay in the Elitseries the upcoming weekend! Two games on Saturday and possibly a third and directly deciding game on Sunday.

Karlskoga played in the other end of the series just last year and lost the cup in the fourth game vs Stockholm. In 2012, Karlskoga went all the way and won the cup in the fourth game of the five game series vs Leksand.

The loser of the series will have to face the winner of the second division play offs in a three game series. The winner will play in the Eliteseries 2015.

The Karlskoga Bats are of course favorites to win the first series. Stockholm was also the favorite to win vs Sölvesborg to go into the final the past weekend. Stockholm was down 6-5 starting bottom ninth in the third and directly decisive game and managed to turn it around to win! Sölvesborg was just inches from giving Stockholm two losses on the same weekend. That was almost twice as many as Stockholm lost in the entire season! The Stockholm Monarchs showed good morale and turned the game around and earned a very well deserved spot in the final vs Leksand after only one loss in the regular season.

The Gothenburg Sharks played Alby Stars in the playdown last year to stay in the series. Those games were away at Seagull Park where the Sharks almost killed the series in the second of the games. The second game went into extra innings and then the darkness took over and had to be taken up again prior to a possible game three. The game two of the series was taken up again the day after but the Sharks failed to capitalize on the extra nights sleep losing the game in the twelfth inning. That was just pure fuel to the Sharks bats which caught fire. The Alby Stars had to resign after eight innings losing the game 5-18. The Alby Stars eventually lost to Sölvesborg who took over the Alby Stars spot in the Elitseries.

The Sharks have been into a playdown before. They came out on top. Will the history repeat itself once again? The odds are against, the players are for! Go Sharks!

Partial success against Sölvesborg

The Sharks managed to win one game but had to give up one in the double header played the past weekend. They will bring that with them on the road versus Leksand Lumberjacks the upcoming weekend.

Sölvesborg Firehawks brought the former Gothenburg Sharks players Brian Strawn and Evan Porter and a lot of faces shined up saying hello to their formed teammates and friends.

Game one was close to nothing but hungry Sharks. They made it hard for Sölvesborg to get on base and they really hit the ball well. Pitching worked, batting worked and defense worked. It looked really easy to play ball out there for the Sharks. The Sharks wasn’t satisfied with just hits, several extra base hits were noticed. Spencer Kreissberg pitched and gave up 4 hits, 2 walks and 7 strike outs. Laffin, which struggled a bit with his bat this year was two for four with one run and two runs batted in. Even though Joe went 0 for 2 he walked twice and scored once. He is .222 for the season but his on base percentage is .359. Weidolf had a very good game at bat and went 2 for 3 and walked once. Patrick Carlson joined the team for the first time this season and left the day with a .333 batting average with two extra base hits. José Muñoz is .400 for the season after Saturdays games. Norderum produced as usual at bat was 2 for 3 with one walk. The game was cut early when the Sharks scored their 10th run in the seventh.

The Sharks went into the second game full with confidence after the win. Norderum started on the mound. Something was troubling Jason. He started with a 1-2-3 inning and everything looked fine. He had a really tough time commanding his pitches and set a record high hit by pitch and walked three in the game. He had several guys at two strikes but put them on base due to walks to hit by pitch a few times. He was taken out of the game in the fourth and hopefully there was nothing serious troubling him. Despite this, the standing was 1-1 entering the fourth with even though the Firehawks was commanding the game until that point. Jason was responsible for the two Firehawks on base with no outs and Hiba entered the mound. For some reason the Sharks totally lost it at the time. Errors happened and the defense totally broke down. Sölvesborg scored no less than eight times of which Hiba was responsible for one and Jason two. The Sharks did failed to recover after that devastating fourth inning. The game ended 1-12 in the seventh.

It is hard to tell what really happened in that second game. Perhaps the team just ran out of fuel after the first really successful game which they dominated?

We wish the Sharks best of luck on the road versus Leksand Lumberjacks and welcome them back 26th of July when Stockholm is visiting Shark Park!

The Sharks are coming back home!

It’s been a slow month for the fans situated in Gothenburg. The team has been playing two double headers away but they will squeeze in a double header home before the month is over. The newcomers Sölvesborg Firehawks will visit Shark Park Saturday 28th of June! Sölvesborg had a terrible start of the season but managed to catch some wins. They are six for fourteen, same as Karlskoga Bats.

The Gothenburg Sharks had a terrible set of games on the road versus Karlskoga and Sundbyberg. Lets hope that they can just forget about the games in Karlskoga and bring the offense back home from the Sundbyberg into the important double headers versus Sölvesborg on Saturday and get back into the series before it is far too late.

Karlskoga away (June 1)

Karlskoga has had some really good seasons the past years. Runner up in 2013 (lost the final vs Stockholm) and winner 2012. They were knocked out by the Gothenburg Sharks in the semi final 2011. Things have gone a bit slow this season though. Six wins after 14 games. Two of them versus the Sharks the first of June. The Sharks lost game one 10-0 after the Karlskoga, at times phenomenal, pitcher Paul Waterman shut down the Sharks completely. He allowed no hits, two walks and was noted for 8 strike outs. Kim Berglind started game one for the Sharks. He’s normally found in Uppsala but reinforced the Sharks. He allowed five hits and two runs in five full innings. Kristoffer Örjelund took over the mound in the sixth giving up three hits and seven walks in two and two thirds innings. Wilhelm Sundin took the Sharks and pitched a third of a inning but failed to prevent the tenth run (Kristoffer was responsible) and the game was ended premature in the eight.

Game two was pitched by the Karlskoga import Parker Talbert the first six innings allowing only one hit and Simon Andersson finished the Sharks off with a clean top seventh inning with one strike out and no hits, giving Talbert the win after Karlskoga scored 11 runs during the initial six innings. Jason Norderum and Hiba Nabi pitched game two. Jason gave up an unusual three earned runs (six scored during the first six) and Hiba added four earned and one unearned. During those seven innings the Sharks failed to get on the board heading back to Gothenburg scoreless.

Sundbyberg away (June 14).

Some two weeks later, on the 14:th of June, the Sharks travelled to Sundbyberg. Sundbyberg Heat have had a good 2014 season. They are one game behind Leksand Lumberjacks and four games behind the leaders Stockholm Monarchs.

The games vs Sundbyberg was the first one for Spencer Kreisberg who made his first appearance in the Swedish Elitseries since 2012 (playing for Karlskoga Bats). The Sharks lost the game 16-6 after seven innings. The frustrating part is that the Sharks let 16 runs of which 11 wasn’t earned! Spencer started on the mound for Gothenburg and had to see the Sundbyberg cross home plate ten times. Only one of those ten runs was earned. Hiba relieved one inning and had to let six runs of which four was earned. The game was ended premature in the seventh. Joe Lankford, and Spencer scored twice and Norderum and Melendez scored once. A multi hit day for the reinforcement Simon Tysk. Runs batted in by Laffin, Tysk, Melendez and Olivia.

Game two just want’s one that Gothenburg was supposed to win. Pitching wasn’t working, defense wasn’t working and the bats wasn’t working. Exception to that was the top of the batting order where Joe and Spencer did what they could. Both scored runs and both had extra base hits. Runs batted in by Laffin and Spencer.

Patrick Laffin have struggled this season. Half way through it his average has dropped from over .400 last season to .282 just now. He had 17 walks last year and halfway through this year he’s down to 2. Patrick is one of the keys to the Gothenburg offence, so lets hope that the numbers are going back to what they were last year and his team mates follow.

 

The regional team fighting Knights

The Sharks playing in the regional series was off to fight the Nyköping Knights. The Sharks in the regional series have had it tough to score wins the previous seasons. They are still looking for a win this season, but it was really close in Sundays game. Here’s a report from the games by Alexander Rikner:

Heartbreaking losses in Nyköping

The regional team dropped both games at Nyköping Knights on Sunday. Hajarna took the lead in the first game and the game was tight behind Ted Bratsbergs pitching and stellar defense through four innings. Hajarna fought back from a 1-3 hole to tie the game up at 3-3 in the top of the fifth. From there, it was all Nyköping. The Knights came right back in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. Holding Hajarna scoreless in the top of the sixth, the Knights kept going in the bottom of the inning scoring seven runs to end the game 13-3.

The second game was pure baseball entertainment. Once again, Hajarna struck first taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Nyköping fought back and when Hajarna came back in contention in the top of the fifth with the score 4-5, the Knights drove in two runs in the bottom half. But this one was not decided yet. Hajarna refused to give up and scored three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game up at seven runs a piece. The Knights, however, was not discouraged. Capitalizing on a couple of misplays by Hajarna they took the lead with 8-7 and held on in the top of the seventh to seal a double win.

Anton Ericsson provides some images and stories about burgers from the games.

Next chance to catch a Shark game at home will be this Saturday at 1pm when the Gothenburg Sharks welcomes Sundbyberg Heat in a double header. The regional team’s next home game is not scheduled until July 6 versus the Nyköping Knights. All scheduled games are available at the games section.

Weekend wrap up

The past weekend was full of baseball!

Leksand @ Gothenburg

Leksand Lumberjacks was visiting Gothenburg in the Elitseries. A beautiful day where the games was preceded by the national anthem and the ceremonial first pitch. A lot of people found their way to the Shark Park which was offering both sun and some occasional clouds! The spectators could not only enjoy the weather but also some good pitching from both teams. Even though the game was not as tight as a Shark fan would have hoped, it was an exciting one where the Sharks failed to produce enough runs in the end. Even though it wasn’t the failing factor in this game, the defense needs polishing. The Sharks seems to have problems producing the extra sharpness and have the quicker feet when needed for the final out. The passiveness or perhaps choosing a play with a lot of margin let Leksand on base a few too many times.

Game two featured pretty much all of the Gothenburg pitching staff available. Coach Anders did what he could to keep the arms fresh not letting each of them too many innings. Even though the runs let was a few too many, two runs scored is not enough to win a game on this level.

Game one ended 6-1 and the second game ended 12-2. Both games in favour of Leksand. A well deserved win according to how the game was played.

Malmö @ Gothenburg B

The Gothenburg team in the second division welcomed Malmö Pilots to Shark Park on the two Sunday games. The Gothenburg team featured youngsters,old timers and up and coming players who all share the love of the game. Malmö showed off some good pitching and a tight defense which made it hard for the Sharks to get on base. Malmö capitalized on some mistakes made by the Gothenburg defense but must be given the credit they deserved for their hot bats. Brian Jordan with the Pilots left the game 8 for 8.

Sölvesborg @ Stockholm

The first game of the day was a tight one. The game ended 2-0 to Stockholm. Jacob Claesson with the Stockholm Monarchs pitched all nine innings not giving up a single run. The Sölvesborg pitcher Eddie Aucoin gave up the game losing run in the forth. If game one was tight, game two was totally the opposite! Sölvesborg started out fine with a two run lead, but Stockholm took over after that. Karl Knutsson started off with the pitching and was relieved by Mathias Person for an inning. Karl then entered the mound once again, but failed to produce the energy to stand up for the Stockholm offense. Rickard Ödmo took them to an early finish in the sixth where the game ended 5-20. Stockholm is still undefeated but was challenged for the first time in game one.

Karlskoga @ Sundbyberg

The Karlskoga Bats was coming from back to back losses versus Leksand (0-10 and 1-2) and Sundbyberg on the other end was 2-0 versus Sölvesborg (1-17 and 4-7). The Bats took their first win of the season in game one but came up short in the second game. That puts Karlskoga one win ahead of Gothenburg. The Bats are off to Stockholm next.

Sundbyberg won todays game over Akademin comfortable 16-5 (7).

Gothenburg on the road

The Sharks will head for Sölvesborg on Saturday. Both teams are looking for their first wins of the season and someone will break their track record. Exiting weekend coming up.

Next home game

The next home game is May 24 when Sundbyberg is visting Shark Park!

And we’re off

Finally! The first game of the season is history and we can look forward to a new season of baseball!

The Sharks travelled to Stockholm for the first game. Stockholm had already begun their season with double header versus Leksand the previous week. Stockholm won those two games comfortably.

Jason Norderum started pitching in game one for the Sharks. He let one run, which wasn’t earned in the four innings he pitched. Eventually, Gothenburg let 10 runs, only giving up five hits. The amount of walks Gothenburg gave up turned out to be costly. The Claesson’s of the Stockholm pitching staff gave up four hits and two walks which the Sharks failed to capitalize on.

Game two were cut early due to the weather but they managed to squeeze in five innings. Gothenburg put themselves up on the board in the third inning when Jason hit a single to the right, where both Joe Lankford and Simon Tysk managed to score! Stockholm started game two by giving Hiba a severe headache. Stockholm scored no less than six runs in the first and four in the second. They managed to score once in the third, but the bleeding stopped there. However, those runs in the first and second was more than enough to put Gothenburg in the backseat and Gothenburg failed to recover. Gothenburg did as Leksand the week before, left Stockholm empty handed.

While Gothenburg was visiting Stockholm, Leksand won two games vs Karlskoga Bats. Karlskoga lost game one 10-0 and the game lasted only until seven innings. Game two was quite the opposite and was a tight game where Leksand came out on the front winning 2-1.

Sölvesborg who lost two games to the Akademin in their opening game got a visit from Sundbyberg. It was Sundbybergs first game of the season and they were pumped! Scoring no less than 17 times in game one. The second game got a bit tighter where Karl Knutsen pitched the entire game for Sölvesborg. Sundbyberg’s national team player Philip Gajzler drove in a two run homer in the ninth and set the final score to 4-7.

Leksand will go on the road and visit Gothenburg Sharks home opener on Shark Park. You are welcome to join us watching the ceremonial first pitch of the season and two exciting games! Please note that game one starts at 12.

Patrick Laffin returns to Gothenburg

While the Elitseries has already started with Stockholm Monarchs sweeping Leksand Lumberjacks in a two game series, the Sharks is still waiting another few days for our opening game. We will face Stockholm away this Saturday and the home opener is May 10th.

Meanwhile we will take the opportunity to introduce our American players for the 2014 season! First off, we are proud to announce that Patrick Laffin will return to Gothenburg!

 

Below is an interview with Patrick just before coming back to Sweden.

Welcome back for a 2nd year with Hajarna. We’re excited to have you be a part of our organisation once again. What was your first impression by Swedish baseball?

I was really impressed by the closeness of the team and the organization. It felt like one big family, and I really enjoyed that feeling. I believe that baseball is baseball no matter where you are, the ony thing that is different is the people you play with, and with that being said, the people I played with, and against in Sweden, really made me love my experience.

Did the city of Gothenburg and Sweden in general live up to your expectations?

They both far surpassed my expectations! I fell in love with both the city of Gothenburg and Sweden in general! I am so excited to come back!!!

What do you think of the 2014 roster and our chances?

I am really excited to see the team! I know they have worked hard this off-season, and I am pumped to get back onthe field and practice! I think if we carry the momentum and attitude from the end of the season last year, where we were definetly playing out best baseball, we will be great!

Do have any personals goals that you aim to achieve this season?

I always go into a season aiming to play the best baseball I possibly can and put my team in the best position to win a game; and this season is no exception. I think it is hard to set specific numeric goals in baseball, because it is such a game of chance and inconsistencies.

Coming back for a 2nd year and knowing a bit more of how the game runs here, have you altered your off-season routine?

I have no altered my personal routine this off season, what I ahve done though is expand my knowledge of all different aspects of the game, to make myself a better coach for my fellow teammates on both the Elite and Regional teams.

What’s your favorit baseball memory of 2014? Clinching the Elite Series spot by beating Alby on the road? Taking a dip in the ocean after our road games?

We had so many great moments, both on the field and off it is hard to pick one specific time or event that was my favorite! The memories that will stick with me forever, are not the ones that happened on the field, rather the times outside of baseball that I got to spend with my teammates and their families and friends!

A lot of people rave about the Swedish cuisine and I’m sure you’ve been able to try some different dishes. Is there anything that stand out to you as delicious or not the tastiest meal on the planet?

I am a big fan of food! My mom is a chef and nutritionist, so I have had a love and appreciation of food from a young age. I loved all the food I tried in Sweden, and would often keep my mom up to date on all the new food I tired! When my mom and sister visited, I took them to a restaurant called Sjomagasinet Restaurang and we had classic Scandanavian food prepared by a master chef! It was so good! I also loved going to the Feskekôrka, and getting fresh fish to bring home and cook!!

If you were to give a tourist a planned day in the Gothenburg area, what would that day look like?

I actually got the opportunity to plan a couple days in Gothenburg for my mom and sister! If I had to plan a one day adventure, I would start with the Paddan Tour on the city, because that offers great insight into the city, and allows you to see it from many different and unique vantage points. It also provides background information on different areas and buildings, which would be useful knowledge for the day trip. After that I would go for Fika in Haga, because that is a really cool and unique area. While in haga, I would take them to the top of Skansen Kronan, for the awesome vantage point at the top. After that I would plan some shopping and walking, starting at central station and Nordstan, and then working our way down the streets in the Brunnsparken area! I would finish the day with a nice dinner, and then a trip to the Avenue for some drinks!

I know you’re a fan of the Red Sox growing up in the Boston area. What was it like coming home from Sweden in mid September last year to witness their hunt for October and eventually winning it all? Did you go to any games at Fenway?

It was awesome coming home and expirencing the hype and excitement of the Red Sox! It is hard to explain how the Red Sox captivate the city to someone who has never been, so I will not even attempt because my words will not be sufficient! I did not get to watch a lot of games while in Sweden, due to the time difference, and so when I got home I had a lot of catching up to do! I was lucky to have some buddies I played college baseball visit me during the playoffs. One of my friends is from Venezula and is in the Detriot farm system, and works out with Miguel Caberera in the offseason. He was able to get us tickets to game 6 of the ALCS which was so amazing to be at!

Expectations on the upcoming major league season? Any teams that really stand out as contenders? Can Boston repeat? Any obvious bottom dwellers?

Boston will repeat, plain and simple! The Yankees will be the bottom dwellers.

It’s still early but can we please get your picks for the World Series and who’ll be the WS champ? Will it be a Northern Cali Series in SF with the Giants and A’s?

I am feeling a Boston, LA World Series!

Thoughts on MVP’s and CY Young winners in each league from the past year? Really tight races and we’d love your take on it.

I think the MVP in both the American League and the National League went to the right guys. Caberera and McCutchen are both awesome! I think Clayton Kershaw deserved the NL Cy Young, but I am a little torn on the AL Cy Young in Scherzer, I don’t know how I feel about him! Keep an eye on my boy Wil Myers in Tampa. He’s bound to do big things!

Now the season is really over

The Sharks left the season semi early by winning the series versus Alby. We don’t know what would have happened if we lost that game. We do know that Alby lost two straight games to Sölvesborg and by that lost their Eliteseries status.

We welcome Sölvesborg to the Elitseries! Karl Knutsson lead Sölvesborg through the playoffs and finally to a spot in the highest league. Something the Sölvesborg team have been longing for (2:25 into this clip).

In the other end of the series we do have a winner! Stockholm did take one win away vs Karlskoga setting the score 1-1 after two games. When the series moved to Stockholm, the Stockholm team took no chances! Back to back wins where the first game saw no more than seven innings. We congratulates Stockholm for the 2013 title! Also, the Stockholm cadets took their fourth subsequent title! Very Impressive!

We’re keen to see what the Elitseries will actually look like the 2014 season. Skövde won a spot there some years ago but decided to not take it. In April 2014 we know for sure when the schedule is set, what to expect.

Very good position for the Sharks

Gothenburg won the important game 1, 16-11. The second game got a bit tighter and had to be interrupted in the top 10 due to nightfall at 6-6. They will continue the second game today. If Gothenburg wins that game they have succeeded to defend their Elitseries spot. If the lose, they will have another chance in todays scheduled game.