A Determined Mounds-keeper

They played on a lot across the River.

They had been a varsity sport for just two seasons, had won a grand total of 26 games.

Before Gerri Rubin joined the Harvard women's softball team in the spring of 1983, the squad was a program in search of legitimacy.

As she departs the team in the spring of '86, after four years of service on the mound, Rubin leaves a program rich in tradition.

A tradition of winning pitching--a tradition centered on Rubin's gutsy determination.

Playing with a prosthetic left forearm, Rubin compiled a 31-21 record over her four seasons while copping second team All-Ivy honors four times.

And each time she drove an extra-base hit to left or snagged a fly ball in right field--her backup position on hurling off-days--the Hamburg, N.Y. native proved that her talents extended far beyond pitching.

The inevitable test, however, came in the form of the bunt: opposing teams leaped at the chance to push the ball towards the mound.

A ploy doomed to fail--time and time again, Rubin flipped her glove to her fielding hand, corralled the squibbler, and threw the runner out.

"If you know someone's got a weakness, you should play it," Rubin says. "They'll usually try it a couple of times, but once they find out I can field bunts, they decide to play against me like against anyone else."

Now they've got a spiffy field of their own next to the varsity baseball diamond.

They've got six years of varsity status and 77 victories behind them, and have become legitimate Ivy contenders.

But come spring of '87, there's one thing the Harvard softball team will never have again.

A pitcher with Gerri Rubin's talent and heart.