Giants win U15 title

Giants have won the Hutt Valley under-15 boys softball title for the first time in the club's history.
They played Dodgers in the grand final at Fraser Park, Avalon on Saturday and ran out comprehensive winners by 10-5.
Making the victory even more special for Giants was that their only two losses in previous competition games this season had come at the hands of Dodgers, and there were times during their latest clash when a similar result looked on the cards.
Giants started strongly and were 3-0 up at the end of the second innings but some fielding lapses in the third innings saw Dodgers capitalise and race out to a
5-3 advantage.
Typically, however, that setback only stiffened the resolve in the Giants camp and after scoring two runs in the fifth innings to draw level at 5-5 they went on their own scoring spree in the sixth innings, scoring another five runs for a 10-5 lead which they maintained until the game's end.
The pitcher-catcher combination of Kyle Morris and Sean Robinson played a key role in the Giants win while Chaz Matthews and Michael McDermott were other standouts in what club stalwart Alan Clarke labelled a "magnificent team effort".
Clarke also paid a tribute to the work of coaches John Marsh and Keith Marsh (no relation) who he said had moulded a team of promising players into a very competitive unit despite having to play the bulk of their games over the hill.
"When you are travelling so often it's important to have a strong team spirit within the side and they certainly had that," Clarke said.