Two losses means a lot.
Especially since they’re now gone.
Botkyrka pulling out of the Elite series turns the table for Hajarna.

Final word came out from the Swedish Baseball- and Softball federation yesterday. Botkyrka, by forfeiting last weekends game against Sundbyberg, pulled out of the Elite series. According to the federation, Botkyrka is now focusing on their regional team and to reestablish themselves.

Which also means the table has turned.
Literally.

As is custom in Swedish sports, all of Botkyrkas matches is no more. And since Göteborg Hajarna was one of the few, if not the only team, that got swept by Botkyrka that is not a bad thing.

The Sharks go to 2-12 on the season and with the Academy not participating in the playoffs, a spot there is within reach. Sundbyberg is at the moment holding that elusive ticket at 3-11 which means Hajarna is one game back of them.

“Playoff baseball isn’t about the best team, it’s about the hottest team. So we gotta take this next month and a half to get hot”, says Head Coach Coleman Lukas.

The remaining schedule is even more intriguing as both teams play top teams to restart after the summer break. Sundbyberg take on Stockholm in two night games on August 4th and 6th while Hajarna host Sölvesborg on August 15th.

The real thriller, however, will be at Shark Park on August 29th when Hajarna host Sundbyberg Heat.

Pitcher Jason Norderum also had something to add:
“Playoffs? You kidding me? I’m just hoping we can win a game”, says Norderum.

Sweep!
Sweep?
“We could have played better today”, Coleman Lukas says.

Do you remember august 12th 2012? That’s when Hajarnas regional team last swept a double header, taking two against Skövde. Back then, it was pretty close.
This time it wasn’t.

The regional team took a huge bite off of Norrköping Blue Sox early in the first game, scoring five runs in first and adding another five in the second inning. A solid outing from starting pitcher Joakim Melin provided the Hajarna defense with the calm they needed.

The defense would unravel just a bit down the road. Some questionable plays and for a while, it looked like Norrköping was on their way back in to this one. In the end, things turned around and Martin Sundh came in to close out the game in the fifth inning with Hajarna taking it 14-4.

“Winning is better than losing”, Jason Norderum, advisor to the General Manager and special assistant to the Executive of Transportation, added.

Game two started out a bit differently. Norrköping let the bats talk and went to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Starter Mikael Lindquist settled down after a while and the game eventually started to look like the first.

Hajarnas bats stayed hot and the runs kept on coming up on the board. With Louis Bischof on the mound in the fifth, Hajarna got the zero they needed. In the bottom half of that inning, Göteborg scored on a wild pitch to make it a mercy rule win at 15-5.

“First sweep in forever for the regionals, but we could have played better. Making the routine plays and be sharp on defense. We got to work on that”, head coach Coleman Lukas says.

Next chance to see Hajarnas regional team play is on July 25th when they’re hosting Malmö Pilots at Shark Park.

No errors, still no win.
Sharks go to summer break hungry.

The Sharks (2-14) had the long road trip north to the capital to play the Butterflies, the Stockholm Monarchs (10-0). And game one started out well enough.
Coleman Lukas scored as Hajarna took a bite of the Monarchs starting pitcher Jakob Claesson (8-0) in the top of the first, scoring on a wild pitch.

As usual, Jason Norderum started game one for Hajarna but the battery had a new look to it. With regular catchers Erik Earnest and Toofan Khazal unavailable, Trolle Brandt got his first taste of catching the lefty. Norderum (1-4) eventually gave up 6 runs (5 earned) in 4.1 innings but had encouraging words for his new catcher.

“He did well. And when he’s playing on tv someday, I get to say that I pitched to that guy”, Norderum says.

The Monarchs tied the game in the bottom of the first, added two in the second and three in the fifth eventually taking game one 7-1.

In the second game, Hajarna managed to get out of it with no errors. Quite an accomplishment for a team that’s had some trouble on defense. The offense, however, was not as fun.

Ted Bratsberg (0-2) started game two and pitched well, giving 3 runs in 4 innings. The lefty tried his best to help his own case, going 3-4 at the plate but to no avail. Stockholms bats did all the work in this one, pouring runs as the game went along and won this one 7-1.

On a more positive note, both John Lachine and Joakim Melin picked up their first Elitserien hits.

“No errors is a huge step forward, unfortunately we had some really untimely hitting today”, head coach Coleman Lukas says.

With the summer break now in effect, the Sharks will have to wait to get a chance for their next win. Next scheduled game is on August 8th but with rumors flying around about Botkyrka pulling out of the league, it might have to wait until August 15th.

Coleman Lukas an umpire?
Sharks regional team getting shut out?
It was a weird Sunday in Tranås.

The Sharks regional team (2-6) faced off at Tranås (6-2) on Sunday and the first game was a wild one. Göteborg took a big bite off Tranås starting pitcher in the first inning, scoring three runs but left the bases loaded. Tranås, however, would return the favor and score five runs off Hajarnas Mikael Lindquist after some defensive mishaps.

It looked to be “one of those days”. The runs kept on coming over the plate and after three innings it was 10-8 in the home teams favor. Unfortunately for the Sharks, that also proved to be the final score. Starting pitcher Lindquist settled down after those first wild innings and the defense behind him started to make some plays. He was tagged for ten runs (at a random guees, a lot of them were unearned) and went all six innings.

It should also be noted that Coleman Lukas stepped in to umpire the first game of the double header and was flawless. Neither team had much to complain about.

The second one started as wild as the first one. Before the top of the first was over, players had collided and yammered at the (new) umpire. After a Hajarna player was blocked by the umpire and, questionably, called out at the plate. The umpire of the first game was inches away from being ejected by the new one.

But this one was not anyones fault but the Sharks. After that, the bats stayed silent througout the game and even though Sharks starter Joakim Melin turned in a quality performance on the mound. Neither the offense nor the defense really turned up for this one and the final score was 10-0 for Tranås in five innings.

The offense wasn’t there.
That won’t play against Sölvesborg.
“We came out flat today”, Coleman Lukas says.

Hajarna traded zeroes to start off the game away to the Firehawks of Sölvesborg. Jason Norderum looked sharp to start the game for the Sharks and battled Kent Karlsson through four innings. The Firehawks drew first blood, scoring three runs in the fifth on a couple of defensive misplays from the Sharks. Hajarna, however, came back in the top of the sixth with three runs of their own to tie it up. Unfortunately, that was all the offense could do on this day.

The Firehawks feasted on more defensive miscues and eventually took game one 8-3. Starter Norderum finished with nine strikeouts, giving up three runs (one earned) in five innings of work.

Ted Bratsberg started game two and pitched three solid innings. After an early run for the home team, Bratsberg settled down and baffled the Firehawks lineup with his big curvevall. José Martinez came in and pitched three solid innings of his own.

The Sharks bats stayed silent however, and eventually the Firehawks found a hole in the Sharks defense. Adding to their lead in the late innings, Sölvesborg came away with a 5-0 win.

“We faced some good pitching today. Probably the best we’ve faced so far this season”, Coleman Lukas says.

The Karlskoga Bats, 2012 Elite Series champs, swept the Sharks’ regional team Saturday, 13-3 and 6-0. The Sharks where within striking distance coming into the sixth inning of game two, trailing just 2-0, but the Bats mounted a four-run, two-out rally to put the game away.

Newcomer Jack Warwick from Australia was impressive in his debut for the Sharks both at the plate and on the mound, blasting a towering three-run homer to left-center in game one and limited an explosive Bats lineup to just one run in three innings in starting game two.

Outhit and outpitched in Karlskoga, the Sharks are nonetheless optimistic about continuing their winning ways in Tranås next Sunday.

One blowout loss, one nailbiting win.
Was that really the same team?
“We always win game two,” Jason Nordeum says.

The Sharks regional team finally got to play baseball again after a three week long layoff following a split series i Malmö. Needless to say, they were fired up.

Unfortunately, everyone on the team will hopefully soon forget game one. Tranås (4-2) ran wild with the somewhat sloppy Sharks (2-2) defense. The Shark Park fans were not amused when game one ended in a 15-1 loss in five innings.

The second game would prove to be a whole different ball game. Göteborg Hajarna took a big bite off Tranås in the third inning and taking a 7-0 lead. Apparently, the elite teams offensive surge this season has rubbed off on the regional team. Or vice versa.

Tranås would regroup and let the bats talk once more. In the fourth and fifth inning Tranås kept on hitting the ball well and would eventually tie the game at eight runs a piece in the top of the sixth inning.

But in this one, the Sharks would hang one to their prey.

Ted Bratsberg provided the pitching that was needed in relief and picked up his first win of the season. Hajarna took the lead in the bottom of the sixth and made good plays in the top of the seventh to win game two 9-8 and earn a split.

“The Sharks regional team don´t always lose game one of a double header, but when they do, they always win game two.” says Jason Norderum, special assistant to the General Manager and advisor to the Executive of transportation.

Two losses might seem like history repeationg itself.
Compared to last season, it wasn´t.
“We played pretty solid baseball,” Coleman Lukas says.

The Stockholm Monarchs (7-0) and Göteborg Hajarna (2-6) came in to Saturdays double header leading the league in runs scored. Anyone looking for a high scoring affair was disappointed by the first game. Starting pitchers Jason Norderum and Jakob Claesson battled each other through six innings trading zeroes until the Sharks took the lead in the bottom of the third. That would, however, be the lone run the Sharks got in this one.

The Monarchs came back in the top of the fourth to tie the game up and taking the lead in the fifth. Norderum, as always, gave the Sharks solid pitching. He allowed two runs (one earned) and struck out nine in his six innings of work. Claesson picked up his fourth win of the season giving up one unearned run and striking out five, lowering his ERA to 0.38. The Sharks threatened late in the game but hit in to a double play with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning. Stockholm added to their lead and took game one 5-1.

The second game proved to be more of that offensive surge that both teams are known for. Hiba Nabi started the game for Göteborg and battled through seven innings for the Sharks and kept the home team within fighting distance. The Sharks became the first team to score off of the Monarchs game two starter, Dylan Driscoll, and swung the bats well. Unfortunately for Hajarna, Stockholm swung theirs even better.

“We played pretty solid baseball,” Coleman Lukas said after the game.

The Sharks battled, manufacturing runs all through this one. June Kono, playing his first game in the Hajarna uniform, looked safe when the home team rallied in the eight inning but was called out at the plate. Stockholm eventually went on to win game two 9-5.

“The season is long, right now it´s not about the results but the process. We´re playing better baseball than a month ago,” Coleman Lukas says.

A walk is as good as a hit.
Just ask Erik Earnest.
“Baseball is in my blood.”

If you’ve been out to Shark Park this season, you probably noticed a familiar face out running the bases.
Erik Earnest has been catching, pitching and playing center field.
But most of all, he’s been walking.

Coming in to Saturdays double header against reigning champions Stockholm, Earnest leads the league in walks per total at bats. His On Base Percentage is at .645, good for third in the league.
In fact, as far as bases on balls is concerned, Earnest is playing in a league of his own. Leading the BB/TAB with more than 40 points and distancing third place with about 70.

“I like to get on base and rattle the pitcher,” Earnest says.

The fact that he is back out there, running the bases in a Sharks uniform is a good thing for the organization. After playing two years at Bakersfield College, he sat out most of the 2014 Elite series season. The motivation just wasn’t there.
This season, it is.

“It’s great to be out there again, I just needed a break from it. Baseball is in my blood.”

With Hajarna picking up two wins against the Academy, and looking good doing so, Earnest has his goal set.

“We should be out there when the playoffs get started.”

The Stockholm Monarchs will take on Hajarna for a double header at Shark Park on Saturday. It will certainly be a challenge for Göteborg as the reigning champions travel south unbeaten this season. The Monarchs has been fueled by great pitching in the early stages of the season as Dylan Driscoll (0.00) and Jakob Claesson (0.53) lead the league in ERA.

“I know a couple of guys on that team, it’s going to be fun,” Earnest says.

First pitch is at 13.00 – make sure to be there.

When it rains it pours.
The Sharks arrived at a rainy Örvallen, the national baseball stadium, in Sundbyberg on Sunday.
Just to go home again.
By the time of first pitch, the games against Sundbyberg Heat were cancelled due to the massive amounts of rain.

Hajarna did advance in the standings anyway. Akademin lost both games away to Sölvesborg and dropped to sixth. With six games played, Göteborg Hajarna stands one game back of Botkyrka, currently in the last playoff spot.

Hajarnas next game will be on May 23 against the defending champions Stockholm Monarchs. First pitch is set for 13.00 at Shark Park.