“I think the three of us work well because we’re so different,” Ruiz says. “Both Jamie and Morgan have crazy rise balls, I’m left-handed, and all three of us throw at different speeds, which really throws the hitters off because they can’t immediately adjust to different speeds. So there’s something different about all of us. Our pitches are all different and move differently, so it’s very effective.”

The combination of pitchers has had mixed results for the Crimson. Though Harvard also adjusted to the loss of hitters Jane Alexander, Allison Scott, Whitney Shaw and Ashley Heritage, the Crimson’s record coming into conference play was flipped last season, sitting at 12-7 a year ago.

Though wins and losses cannot be isolated to the individual pitcher, some of the drop off must be attributed to the pitching change. So far this season, the team has a 3.77 earned run average, compared with a combined mark of 1.84 from last year.

But Harvard traditionally does better in conference play, as the level of competition is a step below what the Crimson faces in its non-conference opponents scattered across the country.

Pitching at home and playing familiar competition should lead to a rise in the pitchers’ production.

“We’re definitely taking it one step at a time, but there’s no reason that our team can’t compete and possibly even win Ivies again,” Ruiz says.

Another Ivy League championship would earn the team a three-peat, something no Ancient Eight program has accomplished since Princeton pulled off the feat in 1994-96. If Harvard is to match that Tigers squad, it will do so on the back of its young arms.

—Staff writer Alex L. Saich can be reached at asaich@college.harvard.edu.