Season Recap!

The book closes on this chapter of baseball for the Clovers this summer. The Clayton Clovers' season ended in the second round of the playoffs against the Tarboro River Bandits. The team ended the regular season with a record of 25-10. 292 innings played, 386 hits, 49 home runs, 339 runs scored, 85 stolen bases, and a summer filled with memories. 

Throughout the summer, the Clovers were one of the top teams in the Tidewater division. They were one of the most dominant teams at home, going 13 - 1 at the Lou. They entered the playoffs with an 8-game winning streak and faced the Edenton Steamers, who split the regular season series 3 - 3. Lane McLean, the University of Mount Olive Trojan, helped the Clovers with 3 hits, 1 run, and was walked once in the 5 - 2 win. He was the defensive anchor, making acrobatic plays on defense to help the team limit runs. Matt Hall, the UNC Asheville pitcher, gave six innings with five strikeouts and only gave up one run in the win. 

With the team riding high after taking down the Steamers, they faced their biggest challenge all summer in their next game against the River Bandits. With the winner of this game going to face the winner of the Coastal Division in a three-game series, a lot of tension was in the air. The game started rocky for the Clvoers, going down 0 - 4 entering the top of the 6th inning. Lane McLean was walked, then the University of Tampa commit Evan Slawinski knocked a double into left field to put runners on third and second. Brings up Zack Chavis, who walked on the passed ball to allow Mclean to score from third. The Clovers felt the momentum shifting in their direction. Garrett Moffett then singled to score another run, and the runs didn't stop there. Connor Witherington had a Sac Fly to score another run, and the game was then 3 - 4 going into the top of the 8th, where another run was scored. The game was tied 4 - 4, and a 2-run homerun in the bottom of the 9th by the River Bandits stole the win away from the Clovers. 

While the season didn't end in the way the team and fans had wanted, there were many positive moments throughout the season that deserve recognition. 

Garrett Moffet led the team in Batting Avg: 0.412

Garrett Moffet led the team in On Base Percentage: 0.531 

Lane McLean led the team in Hits: 48 (33 Singles, 10 Doubles, 5HR)

Ian Bailey led the team in HR: 12 (Clovers Record, Regular Season Leader in the ONSL) 

Zack Chavis led the team in RBIs: 45 

Brandon Humphreys led the team in innings pitched: 32.1 

Matt Hall led the team in wins: 4

Matt Hall led the team in strikeouts: 32

Matt Hall led the team in ERA: 1.4

With a bunch of accomplishments from the players, we thank them for taking the summer to come and play for the Clovers and for being part of the team. We thank the fans for being at every home game and even traveling to the away games to cheer on the Clovers. We thank our staff for helping at every game and delivering some of the best work we've seen. We thank our owners for helping to deliver a great summer season. Finally, we thank the Old North State League for organizing this summer of games. 

Stay tuned for more updates about the Cloveshow for the upcoming season!