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Giants ready to hit the field June 2; home opener slated for June 6

Last Updated Jan 23, 2017 at 5:57 pm MDT

The Fort McMurray Giants are officially ready for their second season in the Western Major Baseball League after the 2017 schedule was released on January 18.

It is a busy one for the Giants who will play 48 games in two months beginning on June 2 in Lethbridge.

“There is a lot of pitching needed, we need healthy arms,” said Dutche Ianetti who is the General Manager of the Giants. “It’s a very intense schedule, but the players are well aware of that and are ready for the challenge.”

The Giants will play three total games in Lethbridge on the 2, 3 and 4 before getting one of their few off-days of the season on June 5.

The Giants will then play their home opener on June 6 at Shell Place at 7:00 p.m. against Edmonton.

Last season, the Giants (16-32) finished in fifth place in a six team Western division placing only higher than the Brooks Bombers who finished (15-33).

As of January 19, the Giants will carry 14 pitchers with six of them being American and also include two Fort McMurray products in Ryan Dunn and Tyler Hodder.

Dunn played his collegiate career at the University of Calgary where he sported a 1-0 record last season with the Dinos to go with an 8.79 ERA. Dunn, also went 6 for 29 from the plate for a .207 average.

Last season Hodder, 6 foot 4, 245 pounds had an extremely productive season on the mound. Hodder started seven games going the distance in three of them while striking out 37 batters in 51 innings pitched. Overall, Hodder had a 1.76 ERA (earned run average) which was the best in the CCBC (Canadian Collegiate Baseball Conference).

Nine of the Giants 14 pitchers play collegiate ball in the States.

Behind the plate, Richard Ortiz of Ponce, Puerto Rico will be coming to Fort McMurray to join the 2017 Giants. Also joining Ponce, will be Josh Ianetti who is the son of GM Dutche Ianetti.

“It’s very important for a lot of reasons,” said Ianetti on having local boys on the roster. “To have them go off to Collegiate play, then come back home to pursue baseball is important because they never had that chance, but now do.”

Last season, in their first year in the Western Major Baseball League, the Giants batted .271 as a team which was eighth in the league, but found themselves in the basement in team pitching with a 7.20 ERA. Defense was also a problem for the Giants last year as the team had a .949 fielding percentage which was 11 out of 12 teams.

In total, the Giants will play 14 games in June on home field at Shell Place followed by 10 games in July on home turf.

Important dates for the Giants include June 6, when the team will play their first home game of the season against the Edmonton Prospects and will follow that with four games in their next five days.

“Come out, and support the Giants,” said Ianetti. “We have probably the best ball-park in the country and from what I’ve seen last year when we finally returned in June, the fan support that came out to enjoy the sunshine and be a part of the experience was great.” “I can guarantee if you come out once, you will come back because you will love it,”

“I can guarantee if you come out once, you will come back because you will love it,”

After June 11, the Giants will hit the road for a pair of games in Edmonton but will return to Shell Place on June 16 to open up a seven-game home-stand which includes four games against Lethbridge and three against Medicine Hat. Last season, Medicine Hat lost to the Edmonton Prospects in the league semifinals.

On Canada Day, Fort McMurray’s Canada Day festivities will include baseball as the Giants play host to the Weyburn Beavers.

The Giants will wrap up their regular season on July 30 in Okotoks when they take on the Dawgs.

Roster additions are expected to be made in the near future by Dutche Ianetti and his staff so stay tuned for further information.

Tickets for the 2017 season are also expected to begin soon and will start as low as $15 dollars for adults.

If you can’t make it down to the ball-park for home games, tune into Country 93.3 for all the action of every single home game this season.