Giants aim for four from four

Four wins from four matches.
That's the aim for the Giants men's softball team as they prepare for a busy weekend which will see them meet Royals and Johnsonville in Inter-City matches at Haitaitai Park in Wellington tomorrow and Hutt Valley Marist in Inter-City and Hutt Valley premier grade matches at Fraser Park, Petone on Sunday.
Pitcher Ritchie Clarke is confident Giants are capable of achieving their target of four wins but, at the same time, he knows nothing will come easy.
"Any team will punish you if you have a bad game at this level and that's the worry for us," he said.
"We have to maintain our focus otherwise we could be in trouble."
Clarke said the most pleasing aspect of the decisive 11-2 and 10-0 wins secured by Giants over Dodgers at Masterton's South Park last weekend was the consistency of Giants on both offence and defence.
"Any team will punish you if you have a bad game at this level and that's the worry for us. We have to maintain our focus otherwise we could be in trouble. We pride ourselves on our depth and this weekend gives us a chance to show we are as well off as we think in that regard."
"We kept converting our scoring chances into runs on the board and we only gave up two hits in two games, that's the sort of consistency you want", Clarke said.
Clarke expects Royals, Johnsonville and Hutt Valley Marist to all provide a sterner test for Giants than did Dodgers.
Royals are strong in the pitching department so runs could be hard to come by there, Johnsonville have invariably given Giants tough opposition and while Hutt Valley Marist are something of an unknown quantity they are reputed to have some
""interesting" acquisitions in their squad.
The fact they will be without two of their big hitters in Corie Karaitiana and Gordon Wilmshurst both tomorrow and on Sunday is a blow for Giants while Mark Quinn, who is not only a powerful batter but a very competent pitcher, is unavailable for tomorrow's two games.
And they will also have to do without the guidance of coach Tony Nixon, who is attending a wedding in Australia.
Clarke admits that situation is not ideal in that it means a greater workload for the remaining members of the Giants squad but he is adamant it won't be used as an excuse for failure.
"We pride ourselves on our depth and this weekend gives us a chance to show we are as well off as we think in that regard,' he said.