Crowded Field In Swedish Playoff Race

SWEDEN - The playoff picture in the Swedish League is still unclear with one week left in the regular season and six teams vying for post-season action.

The league-leading Karlskoga Bats (18-7) split a pair of games with the Leksand Lumberjacks on Sunday and are tied with the Rattvik Butchers atop the league standings.

The Lumberjacks (14-12) scored three late runs off reliever Sami Säkkinen (2-4) to overcome a 3-1 deficit and stay in the playoff hunt with a 4-3 win in the opening match. The Bats wasted another solid outing by American pitcher Adam Sowell who scattered a run and three hits over six innings, and departed with a 3-1 lead. Rikard Blomqvist (1-0) worked the final two innings to earn his first win of the year.

Karlskoga, the defending league champions, carved out a must-have 3-2 win in the second game as Kent Karlsson (8-2) tossed a complete-game five-hitter. Trevor Boucher (3-3) suffered the setback out of the bullpen allowing two runs on five hits.

The Bats will be seeking the top seed in the playoffs this weekend against Stockholm (17-9), which lost to Gefle 5-4 before regrouping to take the second contest, 16-1. Both Karlskoga and Stockholm have already clinched post-season berths.

Leksand can book a spot in the post-season with a pair of victories over Gefle (5-21) combined with a Rattvik sweep against Sundbyberg.

The Butchers (18-8), who beat Tranas 9-7 and 18-7 this past Sunday, have also secured their playoff ticket and could win the regular season crown against the Sundbyberg Heat this coming weekend. However, Rattvik must sweep Sundbyberg and hope that Stockholm can win twice against the Bats to claim the regular season title.

The Heat (15-11) are currently residing in fourth-place but needs at least one victory over Rattvik with Leksand being heavy favorites to sweep Gefle and finish their regular season slate with a 16-12 record. Sundbyberg survived a scare from Alby in a 12-11 win before coasting to a 9-4 win the doubleheader finale.

Tranas (13-13) slim playoff hopes rests on a sweep over the Alby Stars (3-22) combined with Sundbyberg losing twice to Rattvik, and Leksand losing a game to Gefle.

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