Giants confirmed as top notch side

Masterton-based Giants reaffirmed their standing as one of the leading men's softball clubs in the country when they placed third at the Lion Red North Island classic at Hastings last weekend.
The defending Hutt Valley champions were a dominant force in sectional play, qualifying for the top four playoffs without having to play the last of their four scheduled games.
Pitcher Richard Clarke starred in the opening 3-0 win over Pumas of Hastings and then came a 7-0 thumping of another Hastings side, Marist. Standouts with the bat there were Curtis Ames, Mark Quinn, Ryan Shannahan, and Travis Head while pitcher Justin Karaitiana was equally as impressive.
It was Karaitiana and Clarke who again led the way when Giants disposed off Waitakere Bears of Auckland 7-3. Both smashed automatic home runs and Karaitiana again excelled in the pitching role. This game also featured some brilliant work in the field from Cory Kinnon, Corie Karaitiana and Blair Thompson.
First up in the top four playoffs Giants met tournament favourites Porirua and the decision was taken to rest Clarke and Karaitiana from pitching so as to save them for more important games to come. Replacement pitcher Mark Quinn did a good job but Porirua edged ahead to win 6-2.
Next opponent for Giants was the powerful Metro team from Auckland and this was a thriller of a game with Metro winning 4-3.Ryan Shannahan and Richard Clarke both hit automatic home runs and Curtis Ames came very close, his big strike being brilliantly caught in the outfield.
Had Ames scored Giants would have taken the lead and very probably won the match, which would have seen them in the grand final.
As it happened they still had a chance if Porirua beat Metro in the last round of the play-off games but Porirua elected to rest some of their key players and Metro won, a result which qualified both those sides for the decider, won by Porirua 1-0.
Giants though did finish the tournament in style, wrapping up third prize of $750 with a 10-2 walloping of Johnsonville. Richard Clarke was superb as pitcher and also had three safe hits and others to shine with the bat were Mark Quinn and Ryan Shannahan.
Coach Tony Nixon was delighted with the results achieved by Giants, saying they had met expectations in all areas of the game.
"We were consistently good with bat and ball and we pulled off some excellent plays in the field too," he said.
"We could have been in the final, that's how competitive we were."
The strength of the Giants squad is indicated by the nominating of eight of them to play in the national men's softball league, line-ups for which will be selected within the next few days.
Nominated from Giants are Justin Karaitiana, Richard Clarke, Curtis Ames, Cory Kinnon, Travis Head, Ryan Shannahan, Terry Waitere and Mark Quinn while a ninth player, Corie Karaitiana, would have been nominated but for work commitments.