Playing on two of the top Illinois women's teams of the 1980's and early nineties, pitcher Deb Keller produce 22 no-hitters and 40 more one hitters.

An Aurora resident, Keller attended Willowbrook High School in the early seventies with fellow 2003 inductee Don Loid, where she played softball, basketball and volleyball. Summers home from college, she began playing the slow pitch game. After graduation, she was playing on Lombard's Big Blue, and got to know the players on the Lassies.

"Their pitcher was retiring," she says, "and I thought it would be a good opportunity for me."

Was it ever. Keller played on a team with the likes of Helen Biddle, Mark Stark, and Nancy Stark-Shirley. One of Keller's biggest thrills over her career was being named to the All-World Team in 1980 in Kingston, North Carolina along with her battery mate Jo Sauve. The Lassies finished fourth at that 125 team tournament. The following year they went 6-0 in the winners bracket, but lost their final two games to finish as National runners up. They qualified qualified for World play four times over the next six seasons and won numerous league, state and invitational titles.

"They were the greatest bunch of people I've ever been around," says Keller. "We lived and breathed softball. Stroh's was our sponsor back then, and they took great care of us."

"In the past 26 years I've participated in the USSSA, I've known nothing but kindness, support and encouragement from my team and other teams. Every exchange with my friends and (teammates) has made me a better player, and a better person."

Besides the excitement of top flight competition, Keller and her teammates had numerous adventures on the road, including buses breaking down en route to tournaments, bats being "lost" by airlines, and monumental rain delays.

Really monumental. It rained most of the time at the 1981 World in Hutchinson, Kansas, to the point where teams would go back to the motel and try to grab some sleep while waiting for phone calls from the tournament director that would come at any hour of the day or night. Then off they'd go to play.

After the Lassies disbanded, Keller moved to the Playmates in Elgin. Keller went back to the USSSA World with them in 1994 in Milwaukee, and again in 1995 in Dunedin, Florida.

Keller appreciates the dedicated efforts of the people of the Illinois USSSA, saying, "Thanks for giving me some of the best years of my life."