Campbell Little League Celebrates the Season

With the sun beaming and skies blue, Saturday would have been a perfect day for a ball game at the Campbell Little League fields were it not for the fact that the league was celebrating the end of yet another outstanding season of baseball.

"Congratulations to all the players," said Mayor Michael Kotowski during the ceremonies. "You're all winners. You all played the game."

According to league president Darryl De Fiore, 25 teams played ball for the league this year. 

"That's 292 players and 75 coaches and managers," he said.

None of the games let alone the snack shack would have been possible without the backing of the community, De Fiore explained.

"This is very much a community supported league," he said. "All the volunteers and their time...all of our teams are sponsored by local businesses. The community support really stands out to me."

For the players, the season was full of highlights.

"My favorite thing this year was that I hit a home run," said Niklas Cooper, 11, player for TGFS. Cooper would go on to participate in the day's homerun derby, one of 12 major sluggers who managed to hit the leather over the fence during the season.

Bryanna Oxley, 7, of Campbell said this was her first year playing America's favorite pastime.

"I really like hitting," she said. "I played first and third base. I've only played this year, but I will play next year, too."

The first place major team, RBI, will go on to face a team from the Santa Clara Briarwood El Camino Little League later this month in an inter-league tournament. Third baseman and outfielder Evan Wall, 11, of Campbell knows that if his team keeps doing what they’ve been doing, they could go all the way.

"We have just worked together and had fun the entire season," he said. "We worked hard and played our best. It feels great to represent Campbell in the tournament and I'm excited. I've never won a championship before."

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