The incessant phone calls and the fact that she received the "Spirit of Kirkland House" award at the senior banquet attest to Ippolito's popularity in the House, but she insists that her actual residence is Charlie's Kitchen.

"If I don't live there. I at least keep them in business," she says. "My parents own a restaurant in our hometown--Derby, Ct.--so the place feels like home."

"I also think the restaurant kept me on the team this year," she says with a smile. "Kit was going to cut me, but my parents always have the team down for dinner during the season, so he didn't."

Morris denies considering the possibility of cutting his captain, but admits, "It's a good thing Betty played such a sharp right field, because I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't look forward to pizza at her parent's place."

Despite the allure of the pizza and pasta at Ippolito's River Restaurant, Betty will not return to Derby next year. After she receives her degree in economics this June, she will head for New York City, where she will work as a business analyst for American Express.

"I'm the first member of the family to actually leave the nest," she says. "I'm really psyched about living in New York. Derby is hardly a booming metropolis, so it should be an interesting experience."

"Right now I'm not sure how long I want to stay with American Express. I really want to succeed in the business world, but having a family is the most important thing to me,' she says and adds hesitantly. "I also have a hidden desire to coach softball and stay involved with the game."

If she does, you never know, major league softball could be just around the corner.