By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
Of all the places you’d think you would find Kevin Robinson a few hours after being the starting pitcher in a 13-3 win over the No. 4 team in the country, it’s fair to assume that being in his Applied Services class at Northwestern State wouldn’t be at the top of anyone’s Bingo card.
But that’s exactly where Robinson was, about 12 hours after he took the mound at Alex Box Stadium against LSU and 5 ½ hours after the bus arrived back in Natchitoches.
When it comes to Applied Services, duty calls. “I had a presentation to make,” Robinson said.
Years from now, Robinson will be able to make another presentation when he tells people about the night that he was part of one of the most memorable victories in the Demons’ baseball history.
But Robinson, who was the Journal’s Outstanding Player on the 2023 All-Metro team after his senior year at Byrd, wasn’t the only local product who played a role in the stunning outcome. Both Benton’s Hudson Brignac, the starting second baseman, and Haughton’s Colin Rains, the starting right fielder, each had a hit in the game and Austin Anderson, another Haughton product, pitched an inning.
Not a bad night for four roommates.
It was a bad night for the Tigers, who made history in the wrong kind of way. LSU had never been run-ruled by a non-conference opponent in the history of Alex Box Stadium.
It’s actually the second time Robinson has started against LSU in his two-year Demon career. A year ago, he pitched well in a three-inning appearance that resulted in a one-run loss by the Demons.
“But I was much more nervous this time.” he said. “For me, walking down from the bullpen (before the game) there was just a smile on my face. It was kind of like a ‘I made it’ moment. But I shook out of that and went back to my mentality that I pitch better when I’m mad. My mentality was to be mad because these people (LSU) don’t think we should be here.”
If that’s the case, the first pitch he threw only added to that mentality as LSU’s Derek Curiel launched it over the fence for an immediate 1-0 lead.
“I think that made me more determined,” Robinson said. “Because that (pitch) is not who I am. I threw a strike and he put a good swing on it. But I decided to just keep doing what I was doing and let them beat themselves.”
Robinson pitched two innings (throwing 40 pitches) – he also allowed another solo homer – and was planning to keep going when the game went into an extended weather delay. He kept hoping he’d get a chance to get back on the mound, but the longer the delay dragged on, the more he realized his night might be over.
“I tried to convince (the coaches) to let me go back out there,” Robinson said. “All I was doing was sitting in the dugout. I told them I’d go throw a simulated inning to stay loose. It was disappointing, but I understood. I think any competitor is going to be disappointed when they get taken out of the game. Especially in that kind of scenario. But he (NSU Coach Chris Bertrand) was putting me and my health into consideration instead of the game.”
After the delay ended, the Demons put up a six-spot in the third inning and kept pouring it on before the game ended after seven innings by the mercy rule.
Mercy, indeed.
Robinson is NSU’s “Tuesday starter,” a role designated for pitchers who get the call for non-conference weekday games instead of Southland Conference weekend games. In the last seven Tuesdays, Robinson has made his way through state schools – Grambling State (twice), Centenary, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU-Alexandria and now LSU. He is 6-1 with a 4.26 ERA.
“I had a pretty good idea I was going to pitch against LSU because I had started all the Tuesday games,” Robinson said. “But I just tried to stay in the moment just like at other games.”
The sophomore right-hander says he is almost a completely different pitcher than he was at Byrd. “More than anything, I’ve become more of a physical pitcher,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’ve hit my peak yet and I know I have to get better. But I only throw one pitch now that I threw at Byrd and that’s a two-seam (fastball). All my other pitches are brand new.”
For a while, the Demons (25-17) did their share of celebrating on the bus on the way home. “It was chaotic when we first got on the bus,” he said. “But once we got settled in, we all got in our own little world.”
After a few hours of sleep, Kevin Robinson walked into Applied Services class, surrounded by students who had spent a far less interesting Tuesday night.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com