Berkeley Softball Field To Be Renamed After Popular Coach

by Patricia A. Miller

Donald Tomaio Jr. was only 46 when he died in a tragic construction accident in October 2013.

And the Berkeley Girls Softball League came to the Dec. 9 Township Council meeting with a request - to rename Field 2 after the much-loved coach.

“This would be a great honor to memorialize his undeniable support and dedication to our league,” the group said in a letter to Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. and the Township Council. “To have a hardworking, devoted family man’s name prominently displayed on the scoreboard the town generously purchased would make BGSL proud and no doubt all of you. The Tomaio family deserves to be honored by naming Field 2 Donald Tomaio Field.”

Council members wasted no time in unanimously approving a resolution renaming the field in Tomaio’s honor.

Tomaio’s daughter Jenna, 13, started playing softball since she was five, on a T-ball team. She still plays competitively, said League President Vincent Cino.