SOFTBALL: Energy-filled Hukarere champs keep on going

SHANE HURNDELL
Hukarere College softball captain Nihera Huata-Hook and a couple of her teammates will be prime candidates for a television advertisement.
One for batteries because like that "Energizer" bloke, catcher Huata-Hook and pitchers Rita Hokianga and Erina Kahukura keep on going. For a 17-day period which began last Saturday they will have played or trained for four different softball teams every day except yesterday when they took a well-deserved rest.
On Saturday the trio played for Dodgers premier and senior B women who won their respective Hawke's Bay Champion of Champions titles. On Sunday they played for a Dodgers mixed team which won a Hawke's Bay under-15 interclub competition, on Monday night they played for their Hukarere College team and won the Hawke's Bay post-Christmas secondary schools competition for the first time since 1984, from today until Sunday, they will be in action, albeit sparingly, for Dodgers in the national women's interclub tournament at Akina Park, Hastings.
On Monday they will return to the same venue for the five-day national secondary schools tournament and then end their busy 17 days by playing in the annual two-day Fun in the Sun tournament at Akina Park on March 31 and April 1.
The trio are no strangers to hectic summers, with all of them playing in at least three different national tournaments for at least one of the past three summers.
"We won't be thrashed during the interclubs because the plan is to help Hukarere be as competitive as possible during the secondary schools tournament," said Huata-Hook.
Although Hukarere are planning to be a force at next year's national secondary schools tournament ("half our team are still juniors," Huata-Hook pointed out) their tidy pitcher-catcher combinations from the Dodgers club should see them competitive next week.
Huata-Hook and her younger sister Kelly-Aroha are both regular catchers for Hokianga and Kahukura.
While their college team lost one match this summer, a pre-Christmas final to Hastings Girls' High School, their Dodgers senior Bs were unbeaten in their 19 games which saw 283 runs scored and 23 conceded.
Ironically Huata-Hook, who is also her school's representative on the Hawke's Bay Student Council, will complete a first aid course today before heading out to Akina Park and knowledge gained from that course may come in handy before the end of the month.
Te Aroha, with nine current or former White Sox players on the roster and former Black Sox and White Sox mentor Mike Walsh as the coach, will start the 14-team national interclubs as the favourites. Northcote, with White Sox and former Hawke's Bay pitcher Michal Tangaroa on the mound, defending champions Wainuiomata and Auckland Marist are other sides capable of reaching the semifinals.
* Dodgers' draw: Today: 11am D2 v Auckland Marist; 3pm D2 v Hutt City United. Tomorrow: 9am D2 v Te Aroha; 1pm D2 v Waitakere Bears. Saturday: 9am D2 v Newlands; 3pm D2 v Miramar. Sunday: Playoffs.
* The Dodgers squad: Erina Kahukura, Whitney Nohokau, Melanie Gettins, Michelle Martin, Charmaine Gettins, Lorraine Claydon, Nihera Huata-Hook, Tagen Russell, Estelle Sword, Mackylie Te Houkamau, Angela Stubbs, Rita Hokianga, Rachael Kairau, Liani Samuel, Pare Tangaroa, Carmelle Sorensen.