Giants' big wins take the spoils

Giants scored three big wins to take the major spoils in the plate section at the Lion Red Classic men's softball tourney played in Hastings over the weekend.
They blitzed Wainuiomata 7-2 and Fastpitch of Hawke's Bay 13-1 on Sunday before walloping Saints of Hawke's Bay 14-1 in the plate final.
Pleasing as that result was Giants pitcher Ritchie Clarke said it brought mixed feelings in the camp as the primary objective had been to qualify for the top four playoffs, something which was within their capabilities.
However, losses in their opening games, to Saints by 3-2 and to Dodgers of Hutt Valley by 2-1, meant those aspirations went out of the window.
A slow start that allowed their opposition to take the early initiative didn't help the cause against Saints, although Clarke was quick to point out they still had enough runners on base to get their noses in front. "We just didn't convert enough opportunities into runs on the board," he said.
Against Dodgers, Giants held a 1-0 lead for most of the game but a late rally saw Dodgers grab what was to be a winning advantage.
Third up on Saturday Giants thrashed Fastpitch 13-1 and then in a match against Johnsonville which started at 8pm and had nothing riding on it they lost 4-0.
Clarke said Sunday's results were much more in keeping with the standards capable of being reached by the Giants squad despite them being without four of their regulars, the Shannahan brothers Ryan, Nathan and Ashton and Justkin Karaitiana.
Their consistency with the bat was evidenced by them scoring 34 runs and the quality of the pitching and fielding was highlighted by them conceding just four runs in return.
Especially satisfying for Giants was the 14-1 thrashing of Saints in the plate final, a result which was sweet revenge for their earlier loss to that side.
"We really want to make a statement in that one and I guess we did," Clarke said.
Outstanding for Giants throughout the two days was national age group rep Campbell Gaunt.
He filled the catcher's role in six of the seven games and was one of his team's best batters as well.
Blair Thompson who moved from his usual position in centre field to second base and made some excellent plays while Corie Karaitiana spearheaded the batting effort on the second day.