By Larry Moko
It may have been the most satisfying win of them all for St. Mary Crusaders coach Charley Giudice.
When St. Mary defeated the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals, 16-12, in the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic girls' high school slo-pitch final on May 19, it marked the ninth league title in the past 10 years for the Crusaders.
Giudice has guided all of those championship teams, but this one was special for two reasons.
First, he's retiring next month after 32 years in teaching and 36 years of coaching slo-pitch at Cathedral and St. Mary.
Secondly, the Crusaders didn't have the best record this season. Newman ended up in first place with a 6-0 record, while second-place St. Mary finished with a mark of 5-1.
"This one feels really good because for the first time we came in as the underdog," Giudice said after getting soaked with the water bucket by his celebrating players.
"Newman also beat us during the season," he said. "That was a close game, too ... 6-5 and we left a runner on third base at the end. So we knew this one would be tight."
St. Mary trailed the rematch, 12-10, before rallying with three unanswered runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings.
A key hit was a long, two-run fly-ball double in the seventh by Lila Scott. Said Giudice: "The girls came up big when they had to. We got a great hit at the right time from Lila, who is in Grade 9."
Defensively, veteran St. Mary third baseman Emma Doyle made two impressive plays. In the sixth, she snared a line drive and then stepped on the bag for an inning-ending double play.
Then, in the seventh, she gobbled up a ground ball before touching third base and stranding two runners.
"We made a few mistakes here and there," the Crusaders coach said, "but overall we played a good game. I was very pleased."
Earlier in the day, St. Mary took its semifinal, 7-2, over the Bishop Tonnos Titans. Newman punched its ticket with a 14-5 decision over the St. Thomas More Knights.
Newman was looking for its first-ever championship in girls' slo-pitch.
"This was an excellent game," Newman coach Ron Staley said. "We were playing against a championship team (it's now three in a row for the Crusaders). Our girls fought hard."
Staley pointed out that Grade 9 student Maia Castellani pitched every game for the Cardinals this season.
"I can say enough about our pitcher," the Newman coach said.
According to Staley, however, the Cardinals MVP in 2026 was shortstop Maddie Edmonds.
"She had six home runs this season," he said. "I think she only got out one time in eight games."
In the final, she contributed a triple, three singles and made several sparkling defensive plays.
"Maddie is an unbelievable player," the St. Mary coach said. "She almost single-handedly won that game for them."
With the victory, the Crusaders advance to the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference semifinals on May 28.
Other players on St. Mary's roster were Kendra Restauri, Jessica Taylor, Mallory Novisedlak, Mackenzie Pender, Josephine Mella, Emily Jones, Ashley Domingo, Lena Manseau, Anna Cochrane, Samantha Bateman, Marissa Johnston and Josie Bucci.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
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