Giants Blue will play semifinal softball after their gutsy 12–9 defeat over a tough Demons side on Saturday.
The Blues gave Kortez Paku the start on the pitching mound, resting usual starting pitcher and player-coach Justin ‘Chunky’ Karaitiana, with his brother Le Sharn Paku catching.
Giants started well, bringing home four runs at their first turn at bat, and held that lead until the third inning when Demons fought back to level the scores.
A batting blitz of five runs in the next inning gave the Blues a solid advantage which they built on, eventually holding on for a three-run win.
Chris Feary, who sat on the bench for the Blues said it was a battle all the way through against a team that didn’t know when to give in.
“Demons are a team that are very hard to get rid of; they just stay in the fight all the time, you think you’ve got them, and the next thing is they score three or four runs; they’re an unpredictable type of team,” Feary said.
Both Devon Cocks and Kortez Paku batted 1000, while the Giants’ base running once again was aggressive, with the runners always going for the extra base.
There was heartbreak for the Giants women, who went down 10–8 to Te Aroha after holding the lead going into the final inning.
Giants held an 8–6 advantage, but the experience of the Te Aroha batters came to the fore as they scored four runs to close out the game.
Home runs were scored by Nastarcia Jenner, Ashlee Edmonds, and Marata Peters, while Rachel Paku was outstanding with the bat with a 1000 batting average.
Second base Awhina Kahu was named player of the day for some great outs and some solid batting.
The Giants under-13s fought back for a 9–9 draw with Saints in their game at South Park.
