Bush catch cry? helps Giants to top placing

Giants borrowed local rugby terminology on the way to a third equal finish at the prestigious Doreen Dalton men's softball tournament played in mostly appalling weather conditions at Fraser Park, Petone over the weekend.
Coach Tony Nixon said his team were right behind Wairarapa-Bush in their successful bid to win the Heartland rugby championship, and had coined the phrase "Go The Bush" to use before each of their games, and whenever they came out of huddles.
"We might have to keep using it now?..it seemed to have the desired effect," Nixon quipped..
Placing third equal in a competition attracting a dozen of the country's best club sides was a huge result for Giants, although their playing schedule was lessened through Sunday's play being washed out.
That meant the semi-finalists were decided on a countback of Saturday's results and there Giants had secured impressive wins over Poneke-Kilbirnie of Wellington and Papanui of Christchurch, and lost to Ramblers of Auckland.
The victory over Poneke-Kilbirnie was of special significance for Giants as they had lost narrowly to them in an Inter-City club match the previous weekend, and were desperate for revenge
The game was all locked up at three-all at the end of the seven innings, and it was Ritchie Clarke who spearheaded success for Giants in the tie-breaker. He hit what is labelled a grand slam home run because it came with all bases loaded, and Giants took the honours 7-3.
Giants also benefited from an outstanding pitching display from Justin Karaitiana who kept the powerful P-K batting line-up under wraps through most of the game.
Coach Nixon was not too disheartened by Giants's 6-0 loss to Ramblers in their second match, saying it was not so much a case of Ramblers, complete with their six Black Sox players, outclassing them, but their own batters striking the ball well but failing to find the gaps.
"We were actually very competitive despite the end result," he said. "We kept putting bat to ball but just couldn't score."
That defeat made the next match against Papanui crucial to Giants's chances of advancing their hopes of making the top four and they responded with a splendid all-round effort, winning 6-1. Clarke made his mark as a pitcher in this game and Corie Karaitiana highlighted a solid batting effort with an automatic home run.
Nixon believes his team's semi-final with Richmond of Christchurch on Monday should never have been played, with a water-logged diamond making for atrocious, and at times dangerous, conditions.
And Giants suffered the consequences with Clarke suffering a knee injury, and Corie Karaitiana a dislocated thumb, the latter while diving to take a catch.
"The players were ankle deep in water at times???..they shouldn't have been out there," Nixon said.
Richmond won the match 7-0 before going on to beat Miramar 12-10 in the final, leaving Giants placed third equal, a result which Nixon described as "very pleasing."
"The aim always was to make the top four, and to manage that against this calibre of opposition was very encouraging," he said.
Encouraging enough, in fact, to have Nixon predicting that a number of his players have to be serious contenders for places in the New Zealand A men's team which will tour Australia in December.
"It wouldn't surprise me if three or four made that side," he said.