News / Events

News & Events Here are some of the great things that have happened within our league. We will keep you informed of the accomplishments and news that happens. If you have something to contribute, please let us know.

Nominations Posted Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Nominations for the upcoming season have been posted to the Board Members area. Elections will be held in December at the general meeting.

If you would like to nominate a candidate for a board position, please attend the December meeting to do so.
Clayton Major Softball Wins 2009 District 15 Tournament of Champions Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The 2009 Major Softball Girls have provided Clayton Little League with the first tournament win in the softball program's 28 year history. It is also the first title of any kind in over 40 years. They won the District 15 Tournament of Champions in a decisive manner winning in four straight games. Their victory will always be remembered and shows how hard the program has worked to cultivate quality play, great teamwork and a strong ambition to compete. These girls worked hard and played their best to accomplish this feat.

The Tournament of Champions is a double-elimination tournament. The Major Division games were hosted right here in Clayton for 2009. They took place over five days with teams often having two games in a day. They truly test not only these girls ability to play, but also their strength and determination to win. Due to the pitching rules, players must be able to assume different roles in each game and put the team first. The teams entered into the competition were the best teams from the various leagues in the District. All of them played hard and the tournament was extremely competitive with many games coming down to the last inning to determine a winner.

Clayton was able to stay on top the entire time. They made their goal easier to obtain by staying out of the "loser's bracket" which meant that they could sit back and await their final match while the other teams fought to get back into the final game.

In the first game Clayton set the tone for the tournament. The coin toss gave Logan Township home field. Brittni Errig took the mound for the game, pitching all six innings. She finished with thirteen strike-outs and only four hits. A five run second inning put Clayton up by six, but Logan came back and closed the gap to three making Clayton have to stay on top of their game. In the bottom of the 5th inning with the score 8 - 5, Natalie Warner drove in an RBI and reached second base. Sarah Landis followed that up two batters later with a 2 RBI single to put the game out of reach for Logan. The team had eight hits with all but one Clayton player crossing the plate during the game, showing the offensive depth of the team. Clayton won the game 11 to 5, after holding Logan in the top of the sixth without a run.

In game two Clayton would face West Deptford who had shown their skills earlier in the day by defeating Swedesboro. Clayton would only get 30 minutes to rest before having to take the field for the second time that day. This time, Clayton won the coin toss and was the home team. This would play an important role later in the game. Brittni Errig again took the mound for Clayton. Amanda Wilson got things going in the first with a blast to center field that drove in two runs. After giving up a run in the first, Clayton's defense held West Deptford without a run until the fifth inning building up a five run lead in the process. West Deptford found their offense in the top of the fifth scoring 5 runs to tie the game and then held Clayton without a run. In the top of the sixth, Brittni dug deep and delivered three strait strike-outs to the heart of the West Deptford order. In the bottom of the sixth, Clayton's first batter was walked and stole her way to second. She was then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. However, she was caught at home trying to score on a passed ball. With two outs, the next two batters reached base and settled in on second and third on a passed ball. Danielle Cowgill came to the plate and delivered her second two RBI single of the game with a blast deep into left field to win the game 8 to 6.

Game three would be played the following day against Glassboro who had handily beaten their two opponents in the previous day. These two teams had faced each other many times during the regular season equally splitting wins and losses. Glassboro won the coin toss and elected to be the home team. This time Dominique DeFalco would take the mound for Clayton and pitch all six innings. Both pitchers were on their game and the score would show it. After three innings the score was 3 to 1 in favor of Clayton. The few runners who reached base for Glassboro were held in check by catcher Kelli Moore, with her throwing out two runners trying to steal second base. The fourth and fifth innings were quiet for both teams while the pitching really took over. In the sixth inning Clayton's offense was finally able to give them some breathing room by putting three runs on the board and extending their lead 6 to 1. Dominique once more took the mound and went into shut-down mode. After the first batter made first base on a walk, she came back and got strike-outs on the next three batters throwing only four balls to the set. Dominique finished the game with 9 strike-outs and gave up only three hits.

These three wins gave the team a few days rest while the rest of the teams battled to face Clayton in the final game of the tournament.

West Deptford came out of those games as the victor and would face Clayton for the second time in the tournament. This time West Deptford would take the home field. However, Clayton was more than ready with their bats as they put up four runs in the top of the first inning and went through ten batters. West Deptford was able to score a run in the second inning in what became a pitchers duel until the fifth. Brittni Errig was once again on the mound and in a groove. With the score 4 to 1 in the fifth, Clayton opened up a huge lead scoring five runs and going through all eleven batters. Brittni would come out in the top of the sixth and get three strike-outs to make sure the lead would hold up and win the game 9 to 1. This would cement the tournament victory and prevent an additional game from being played.

Here are the 2009 Clayton Major Softball girls (in batting order) :

#14 Kelli Moore - Catcher
#2 Ashley Raia - 2nd Base, Center Field, Right Field
#18 Brittni Errig - Pitcher, Shortstop
#7 Dominique DeFalco - Pitcher, 3rd Base, Shortstop
#3 Danielle Cowgill - 1st Base, 3rd Base
#10 Alex Ashe - 3rd Base, Shortstop, 1st Base
#16 Amanda Wilson - 2nd Base, Center Field, Right Field
#1 Natalie Warner - Left Field, Center Field
#4 Serena Garofolo - Left Field, 3rd Base
#8 Jessica Fazzio - Left Field, Right Field
#5 Sarah Landis - Left Field, Center Field

Manager : Brian Ashe
Coach : Frank Errig

Congratulations Girls!!!
10 - 11 Girls Softball All Stars Thursday, July 24, 2008
Clayton, NJ - The Girls 10 - 11 All Star Tournament for District 15 has ended. The Clayton girls have succeeded in getting farther into the tournament than any previous team in Clayton history. They won the silver medal in the tournament having made it to the District Final game and narrowly losing out to Pitman.

The team, managed by Brian Ashe and coached by Frank Errig, was propelled through the tournament with superb pitching from all three of their pitchers. There were also some brilliant defensive plays and consistent hitting from key players.

All of the girls should be very proud of their accomplishments. They played with a great deal of passion and commitment. They earned every bit of their success.

We hope to see all of them again next season, continuing to inspire the league.
Minor Softball Tournament of Champions Sunday, June 22, 2008
Mantua, NJ - Fazzio's Lawn Care, Clayton's entry into the Tournament of Champions for Girls Minor League Softball, has had their run come to an end. The team, managed by Tracy Moore, made it all the way to the final round of this double elimination tournament. They prevailed over Logan Township, Sweedsboro/Woolwich, West Deptford and Glassboro. They lost their second and final games against Mantua Township; the only team to beat them.

The team excelled in hitting and defense through all of their games. Strong pitching helped carry them through the tournament. The kids had a great time and competed hard. They should be proud of their accomplishments as we are here at Clayton Little League.

We hope to see all of those young ladies come back out next season to continue their growth and success in softball.