Lewiston’s Jordyn Rubin belts a two-run double during a 2019 game against Brunswick. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal file photo
Editor’s note: This is the 10th in a series of stories about the effects of the cancellation of the spring sports season.
Jordyn Rubin didn’t get to finish what she started at Lewiston.
She’s been starting since the beginning of her softball career, having earned the leadoff spot in the Blue Devils’ lineup as a freshman.
Rubin won’t have the ending to her Lewiston career that she wanted as a senior, but next softball season she will get to start her college career at Simmons University in Boston, and she’ll get a chance to show the coaching staff what she displayed to former Blue Devils coach Mike Child during the preseason of her freshman season in 2017.
“The thing with Jordyn is, during the preseason we put her in a couple spots and it seemed like the leadoff spot was her best spot,” Child said. “I mean, she got on, she sometimes led with doubles. And then she’d get on, she’d steal a base. I had nobody that aggressive at that time. She was the choice, between me and (assistant coach Meagan Marcoux), for the leadoff hitter. She proved she belonged there.”
Rubin didn’t get a hit in her first high school at-bat, but as the Blue Devils’ center fielder she took away plenty from opponents. Child said he trusted her to run the outfield as a freshman.
And she got plenty of hits that first year, earning first-team all-KVAC honors.
“I wasn’t really surprised at how well I succeeded as a freshman, simply because I knew how much time and hard work I put in to practicing to earn my starting spots,” Rubin said. “With how much time I spent with my travel team practicing and playing in games and tournaments, I was prepared for anything that came my way during freshman year.”
Current Lewiston coach Ryan Cormier, who took over for Child last year, could see Rubin having a similar standout debut season at Simmons, which plays at the NCAA Division III level in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.
Lewiston’s Jordyn Rubin signs a letter of intent to continue her softball career at Simmons University, as her father, Paul,, left, and mother, Jen, look on. Submitted photo
“When Jordyn will step on the field for Simmons, they will find that she is one of the hardest-working and most dedicated players on their team,” Cormier said. “Jordyn has the ability to step right in and have an immediate impact for her team at Simmons.”
Rubin said she originally had her sights set on playing Division I softball, “but realized I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the whole college experience with nursing and softball, as I would at the D-III level.”
Once she narrowed her focus to Division III schools she said her heart was set on Simmons “for many amazing reasons.” The nursing program was one reason, and Simmons provided her with the most financial awards. Being in the middle of Boston and surrounded by a multitude of hospitals helped, as well, providing her with an opportunity for internships and, eventually, jobs.
The softball team at Simmons was a big factor.
“Their softball program was always competing to be the very best they could be. I wanted to be a part of a softball program where they strive to be better every practice and every game,” Rubin said. “Brook Capello, the head coach at Simmons, was also the GNAC Coach of the Year, which really proves how much the team is benefiting and growing every day.”
Rubin, herself, never stopped working on her own skills after earning a starting spot and establishing herself as a top-of-the-lineup hitter, roles she said she was grateful and honored to have been given as a freshman. She again earned all-conference honors after her sophomore and junior seasons.
Lewiston softball coach Ryan Cormier, right, pumps up his team between innings during a 2019 game against Brunswick. Jordyn Rubin is wearing a visor and a smile. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal file photo
“Each year, I tried to maintain the same offensive approach during every at-bat, with every pitcher and team I faced, but I came to realize that the pitchers were avoiding the strike zone when I was up to bat. For example, I was intentionally walked three times in one game, and 26 times during one season,” she said. “With that being said, I grew as a player and person every year by bettering myself with outfield drills, conditioning, hours of time with my hitting coach, and taking the advice to heart from all my coaches and teammates.”
Rubin took all that advice, as well as the intel she gained from batting at the top of the order, and she dished that out to her teammates. Child said she was a leader from the get-go. Cormier said she was a leader on and off the field during his first season as coach last year, stepping into that leadership role and being “that support person for the team.”
Rubin was looking forward to leading again this year, but then the season was wiped out and that opportunity was taken from her.
“I was looking forward to leading the team and helping teach the younger players some skills and things to take with them as they went on throughout high school. I was excited to help this team grow as a whole, to be the best team we possibly could be,” she said.
Cormier saw a potentially deep playoff run for this year’s team, after finishing last year’s regular season strong. Marcoux said she foresaw Rubin putting up “incredible stats” as a senior.
“My heart absolutely breaks for Jordyn,” Marcoux said. “It’s very clear that softball is her passion, and I know personally that she has worked so hard throughout the offseason to get where she’s at both physically and mentally.”
Rubin said she’s in the best shape of her life and spent part of the offseason in Georgia playing against tougher competition so she could finish out her high school career, as she put it, “with a bang.”
“I’m truly heartbroken to have lost my senior season pretty much entirely. I was looking forward to this season so much, and I was ready to take on any challenge our team would face,” she said. “I really wish I could have finished what I started my freshman year, playing my very best and wearing the Blue Devil uniform I loved best.”
Rubin said she was looking forward to wearing a Lewiston uniform for one more season, and noted that the team was supposed to be getting new uniforms this season.
Instead, her next new uniform will be that of the navy-and-yellow Simmons Sharks. She said she is blessed to have that opportunity.
“I have worked so hard ever since I began playing softball to get me at the potential I needed to be at for the college level,” Rubin said. “All the handwork and sacrifices I made paid off, and I’m so excited to grow even more as an athlete and person in college.”
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