Giants’ Mitchell Shields, left, taking a catch against Paremata-Plimmerton on Saturday. PHOTOS/JADE CVETKOV
MARCUS ANSELM
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A Giants home double-header ended in double defeat, but they showed plenty of praiseworthy play on Saturday against teams from Wellington and Porirua in Intercity play.
Defence was on top in the Premier Reserve game, where one lone early run gave the visiting Johnsonville Billy Goats a 1-0 win at South Park.
The Giants’ Premier Reserve side are 1-3 this season after the narrow home pitch reverse.
Club president Chris Feary said it was “a real, tight-fought encounter” against the northern suburbs team.
“It was just one or two errors which allowed Johnsonville to get a man on base and safely brought home in the first innings. It remained scoreless after that.
“It was a good game all round by both teams.”
The two points garnered for the result have the Billy Goats leap above the Giants in the points table.
Now one place off the bottom of the table, Giants travel to Hataitai on Saturday to face Poneke-Kilbirnie.
Earlier, a youthful Giants Premier Three team went down 10-5 to experienced league leaders Paremata-Plimmerton.
With five regulars away, opportunities were given to several Under-15 players to get a taste of senior competition.
The result ended a four-match winning streak for the Wairarapa team, but Feary said it had been a good experience for the youngsters with Mitchell Shields making some outstanding plays from shortstop.
“It’s a big difference with 14-year-old boys coming up against their seasoned pitchers. A great effort by them.”
Paremata-Plimmerton took sole leadership of the Premier Three standings after the win.
The Under-13s mixed team had a close 9-10 loss to Dodgers at Fraser Park.
February has a further treat for softball fans later this month.
The Canada Under-18 men’s team arrive in Masterton for a world championship warm-up on February 18.
Canada are one of the favourites for the Under-18 world series, which takes place in Palmerston North later this month.
Mark Quinn, the team’s assistant coach, is a former Giants and Dodgers pitcher, and taught in Masterton before heading back to North America.
“Canada are one of the favourites for the world series, so it should be a really good game,” Feary said.
