Giants turn it on against big guns

Masterton-based Giants lived up their name at the Wanganui Braves men's softball tournament played in Wanganui last weekend.
Up against some of the most powerful club sides in the country they were not expected to be in the hunt for the major prizes, but they quickly adopted the role of giant-killers and made it all the way to the final, where they were n by just 1-0 by the powerful Porirua combination.
"Yes, you'd have to say we exceeded even our own expectations," assistant coach Russell Thompson said. "To be honest we went there mainly for game time and to reach the final was way above what we anticipated."
To even make the tournament semis Giants had to finish in the first two in what was clearly the most difficult of the two pools.
What was always likely to be the easiest game for them came first and they duly despatched Huia Chiefs of Palmerston North 4-1.
Inter-City competition pacesetters Porirua were second up and Giants were pleased with a gutsy display which saw them beaten by just 2-0.
A disappointing 6-0 loss to Tamatea of Hawke's Bay followed with Thompson making no excuses for the defeat.
"It was the first game on Sunday morning and we played like we were still asleep," he said. "It put us on the back foot in terms of making the semis and that was frustrating."
A 3-2 tiebreaker success over Kapiti helped, however, to put Giants back on track and they clinched the number two qualifying position in their pool when they edged out warmly-favoured Johnsonville 3-2.
To say Giants were the underdogs in their semi-final against Hutt City United would be a gross exaggeration; most people didn't give them any chance whatsoever of reaching the tournament decider.
And no wonder when you consider that in something like 50 previous meetings in all types of competition and tournament play Giants had never recored a win against their rivals.
But on this occasion Giants "clicked" and produced a superb all-round performance to not only win, but to win comfortably by 5-0. "Everything went right, it was absolutely amazing," Thompson said.
"We batted better, we pitched better and we fielded better, it was great stuff."
Thompson was equally enthusiastic about Giants"s display in the final with Porirua scoring just the one run in the bottom of the fifth innings.
"Again very few people gave us a show but we were in it right to the bitter end," he said. "We batted well enough to create chances, but unfortunately we couldn't get anyone home."
Pitcher Richard Clarke had an outstanding tournament for Giants, excelling in the two matches against Porirua where he kept a potentially lethal batting combination under wraps.
Catcher Curtis Ames was consistently good in that role and also batted well, while in the field there were some excellent work from youngsters Ryan Shannahan and Blair Thompson and also from Corie Karaitiana.
But, as Russell Thompson was quick to emphasise, it was the ability of Giants to work as a team in all departments which was the biggest single factor in their second placing.
And he is hopeful they will be in a similar frame of mind when they meet Hutt Valley Marist in a double header at South Park in Masterton this Saturday.
Both games will count towards the Hutt Valley premier men's competition and two wins will almost guarantee Giants a place in the top four play-offs.
"It's a big day for us and the fact it comes at home makes it even bigger," he said. "It's a huge chance to grab a play-off spot and we're determined to make the most of it."