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“When I broke it, she started crying,” Robbins said of her mother. “She was upset that it was broke but glad that it was me.”
Robbins moved to third base after the first inning, and Miranda Gillman took over in the circle to help lead Northwestern to a 7-3 win. It’s the 12th consecutive victory for the Warriors (19-2) and their 12th against a Central Buckeye Conference opponent. They’ve already secured their fifth consecutive CBC Mad River Division title.
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“We like where we’re at, for sure,” Robbins said. “We started out with a few bumps, but we’ve got back up and we’re doing really good. I think we’re hitting our peak.”
Robbins, a junior, has been instrumental in the team’s success. She’s third in the CBC with 132 strikeouts and has the second-best ERA (0.60) of any pitcher in the league. Her hitting has been superb as well — she leads the CBC in RBI’s (41) and is second in home runs (7). Robbins has 17 career home runs, which is also a school record.
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“She’s a workhorse and wants to improve each game,” Northwestern coach Missy Johnson said. “She ended up focusing more on softball this year, and I think it’s paid off and made her even better.”
Robbins, who has a .456 batting average, has plenty of help with hitting. Gillman, Maddie Current, Abby Zerkle and Jamie Rutherford all bat over .400 and have on-base percentages of .449 or better.
With solid pitching, hitting, and fielding, Johnson thinks Northwestern has a shot of another deep tournament run. The Warriors have won a district title three years in a row and advanced to the Division III regional finals last year, where they lost 4-2 to Johnstown-Monroe.
“I think as close as they came to state last year is motivating them,” Johnson said. “Hopefully that’s what we’re able to accomplish.”
Northwestern was voted as the No. 1 seed in the Northmont Div. II sectional and will open postseason play next Monday against No. 12 Bethel. But first, the Warriors will tune-up for tournament play on Saturday with a doubleheader on the road against Northmont (14-8).
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