A frustrating season has come to an end for Giants Red, beaten 5–1 by Dodgers White in Saturday’s Hutt Valley Premier Three semifinal at South Park.
The Reds went into the game on the back of only two Hutt Valley championship games in 2024, and their lack of softball showed as they were outplayed by a Dodgers team they had beaten twice previously this season.
Terry Waitere gave the home side confidence early on when he was batted in for the first run of the game, only for Dodgers to tie the scores in the third inning.
The visitors then took control in the fourth inning with a safe hit out to the fence, bringing home three runners. An automatic home run sealed the deal for Dodgers.
Giants Red team member Chris Feary said, “We had our opportunities, but we just couldn’t get bat to ball. They outplayed us, they played a better game and were deserving of the win, and Saturday just wasn’t our day.”
Despite the defeat, Feary believes the season was a success for the Reds, who won the Intercity Premier Three Championship.
However, the paucity of championship games, with only two round-robin games over the past two months before Saturday’s semifinal, is bound to raise plenty of questions from not only Masterton Giants but also other clubs impacted by the lack of action on the diamond.
The Giants women’s season also came to an end in their Hutt Valley Premier Three semifinal. A severely weakened side was no match for top qualifiers Te Aroha, going down 10–0.
The softball season will conclude on Saturday, with Giants Blue to play Hutt Valley Marist in the Hutt Valley Premier Two semifinal, with the winner to progress to the final later that afternoon.
