Rolph Road Roadrunners capture TDESSA title

Rolph Road Roadrunners junior girls slo-pitch team won its sixth City title on Tuesday, with a 22-1 rout of Maurice Cody Junior Public of North Toronto in the TDESSA championships at Corvette Junior Public School in Scarborough.

Fresh off a conference championship, where they outscored their opponents 47-11 in two games on Oct. 23 to qualify for the Citys, the 14 girls from Leaside took their A-game to Scarborough.

The Roadrunners squad was one of four teams playing. They earned a bye into the final against Maurice Cody.

The troupe conquered both the conference semi-final and final games Oct. 23, downing Armour Heights Public School 20-1 in the first game and then Allenby Junior Public School 27-10 to qualify for the Citys.

While waiting for the final game to start, Rolph Road coach Brian Deeks could be heard talking with parents that Allenby was going to be a tough team.

After the game was won, Deeks commented that the Roadrunners coming through with their bats was the difference.

“I think Allenby is a great team,” he said. “I think on balance we outhit them.”

Deeks lauded Allenby’s coach, Mario Galofaro for his coaching skills, noting his counterpart “has dedicated his life to phys ed and coaching.”

In addition to solid hitting, one that included three home runs from pitcher Molly Chadwick, the mound was on fire towards the end of the game.

When the home team Allenby threatened a rally in the bottom of the fourth inning, Chadwick shut the door down with a four-up three-down result. A strikeout and strong defensive play behind her figured prominently.

“It feels good, but I think it was a team effort all around,” she said after the game.

Deeks applauded the play of his standout player.

“Molly’s clearly the leader,” he said. “You can see how well she pitches and how well she bats.”

Deeks puts in a great deal of work with the girls from Grade 6, getting them to practice at 7:40 a.m. He credits the parents as well as his coaching aides, Beth Pierson and Jeff Goldenthal, as part of the winning equation.

“We’ve got parent involvement. Jeff comes out every morning and coaches. He’s a great batting coach.”

Along for the ride with Chadwick were Aisha Seligman, Alexandra Mohl, Anna Lord, Avery Thompson, Courtney Allen, Hilary Tanner, Jordan Collier, Kamille Puder-Goldenthal, Maddy O’Brien, Maya Rundic, Meghan Strezos, Reid Munro and Tara Sarkhosh.