By John Knebels • Posted May 16, 2025

Whenever Izzie Baron races around the bases or gobbles up ground balls at second base, shimmering gold peeks out from her red and black jersey.

The rosary necklace she wears was a present from her grandmother, and the Archbishop Ryan senior softball sure-to-be All-Catholic considers it far more valuable  than simply a beautiful piece of jewelry.

“My grandparents are from Italy, and the last time my grandmother visited, she bought me the necklace and had it blessed by a priest in Italy,” said Baron, a product of Maternity B.V.M. Parish in Philadelphia, where she played softball and basketball. “When I’m playing, I always wear it because it makes me feel safe, like I have someone watching over me.

“I’ve been going to Catholic schools my whole life and, inside and outside of school, my Catholic faith has played a huge part while I play. It helps me to feel calm and protected.”

Even her uniform number 11 envelops Baron in personal warmth that has nothing to do with clothing texture. She chose the number in honor of her late grandfather, Luigi Cusano, whose birthday was March 11.

“I always wore the number 1,” said Baron, “but when I was 7 years old playing basketball, another girl took number 1, and my mom said, ‘Why don’t you just wear number 11 because it’s double ones?’ I never realized how special the number would be to me.

“I’ve always appreciated the little things in life. My parents and my grandparents taught me to never take anything for granted, and I carry that with me every day. I also know that some gifts we are given in life are very sentimental to others, and I’ve learned to cherish those things.”

This past season issued a challenge to Baron and her teammates. As the Philadelphia Catholic League softball playoffs commence on May 17, Ryan fell short of making the final cut for the first time since 2008.

Entering the spring, Archbishop Ryan had won five championships since 2014 – the most recent in 2021 – and reached the PCL finals in seven of the last 10 seasons, including the past two. However, after a 3-1 start, the Ragdolls dropped their last six contests.

“It has been very weird not making (the) playoffs, especially because in previous years, playoffs was a given,” said Baron. “The biggest challenge for me was that our last PCL game was really our final game as a team, and that I wouldn’t be seeing some of those girls anymore toward the end of the school year.”

Baron, a shoo-in to be named All-Catholic at season’s end, lauded the program’s entire body of work rather than dwell on an anomaly.

“Being a part of this team has taught me so much in the past four years,” said Baron. “When I first started, I never would’ve thought we would be as successful as we were. Personally, when I look back at myself on the field freshman year, you can tell there’s a huge difference. I went from being a timid freshman to one of the main leaders on the team.

“At the time that we were in the championship games, I never realized how big an accomplishment that was until it was all over, but I would never take anything from my four years for granted. I’m going to be looking back on the girls that became like family to me and all the accomplishments we made and good times we had together.”

Senior teammate Moira Maw, an alumna of Bensalem’s St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School, labeled Baron “the glue to our team.”

“Izzie and I were both two scared freshmen who didn’t know what to expect playing at the varsity level,” said Maw, who will play softball and study forensic biology at Chestnut Hill College. “Since me and her were the only two freshmen on the team at the time, we grew very close very fast. We knew that whatever happened, we always had each other to lean on.

“Over these four years together, we became best friends. Not only is she an amazing teammate and leader to everyone on the field, but she is an even better friend off the field. She never fails to make us all laugh and is always there when you need her most. Without her, I have no idea where we’d be.”

In late August, Baron will continue her education at Widener University, where she plans to play softball while majoring in nursing.

“I’ve always known I wanted to pursue something in the medical field since I was little,” said Baron. “My grandfather was very sick my whole life and I hated seeing him in pain, which made me realize I wanted to be able to help people.

“My mom is also one of the biggest reasons I want to be a nurse. She is a registered nurse, and watching how well she took care of my family growing up inspired me to want to be like her.”

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Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com or on ‘X’ @johnknebels.