Over the weekend, the Robins played some of their best softball of the season, and put together three fantastic wins. On Friday night, the Robins beat White Bear Lake 13-1, and were led by Erin Nickell and Raymond Kennedy, as they each hit home runs for the Robins. On Saturday morning, the Robins met Dakota United in a rematch of last year’s State Championship match, and walked away with a 13-0 win. Many Robins had an awesome game, but the story in this game was the Robins’ defense and the pitching of Erin Nickell. Nickell carried a perfect game into the fourth inning, and with the help of the rest of the Robins, finished the game allowing just one hit by the Hawks. In the State Championship game, the Robins met their rival, the Anoka-Hennepin Mustangs, in a game that figured to be a very tight one. Once again, the Robins’ defense was absolutely spectacular, as they turned four double plays, three of them involving shortstop Harrison Lerner. Lerner’s fielding throughout the game was some of his best of the season, and he also came through with a couple key hits to help drive the Robins offense. When it was all said and done, the Robins claimed their third softball title in the last four years, with a 9-4 win. Erin Nickell, Keith Breding and Ethan Brenna were named to the Wells Fargo All Tournament Team. Way to go Robins!!!!!!!!!

In the opening round of the 2010 adapted softball state tournament, the #2 seeded Robins will play White Bear Lake at 5:30 on Friday, June 4 at Coon Rapids H.S. in Gym B. The White Bear Lake Bears defeated Minneapolis South 21-19 to capture the #3 seed in the South bracket. The Robins’ Saturday game times will be determined by the results of their other games…if the Robins win Friday evening, the Saturday morning game will be at 10:30, and if they should lose the Friday night game, they will play at 9:00 Saturday morning.

The Robins will be putting the finishing touches on another awesome year, with a year-end banquet in the Armstrong High School cafeteria on Tuesday, June 8, 2010. The banquet is scheduled to start at 6:00 and go until approximately 8:00. The dinner is free, but families are asked to make a $10 donation to help cover the cost of various banquet related supplies.

This is a casual event, but the players are asked to dress nicely, as there will certainly be many pictures taken during the celebration of another great season and farewell to our group of seniors. Hope to see you then!

The Robins finished the regular season in a not-so-grand fashion today, losing to the Anoka-Hennepin Mustangs 11-1 in 6 innings. The Robins managed to load the bases in the first and fourth innings, but could only score just one run. The Mustangs made many nice plays over the course of the game, but 6 fielding errors and 4 base running errors by the Robins pretty much took away any hope of keeping the game close. The Robins six most reliable hitters combined to get just three hits in 17 at-bats. The Robins finish the regular season with a 9-1 record and share the conference championship with the Mustangs. The Robins will be one of the top two seeds out of the North Conference at the State Tournament on June 4 & 5.

The Robins used three five-run innings to cruise to an 18-1 win over the White Bear Lake Bears. Keith Breding was 4 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, Steven Halsey was 3 for 3 with 2 runs and 4 RBI, and Andy Dubisar also was 3 for 3 with 2 runs and 4 RBI. Erin Nickell pitched all 5 innings to earn the win.

After a very slow start tonight, the Robins battled back and defeated the Mounds View Rams 16-7. The Robins trailed 7-1 after two innings, and looked a little rattled. A two run third inning helped with the Robins confidence and overall play, before they put together 5 runs in the 4th inning, 4 runs in the 5th inning and 3 runs in the 6th inning to pull away. Charlie Wittmer went 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 4 RBI, Steven Halsey went 5 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, Andy Madson went 4 for 4 with 3 RBI, Alex Orozco went 5 for 5, Bailey Miller went 4 for 5 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI, and Erin Nickell went 5 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI.

The Robins are now 7-0, after a 17-5 win over the Wayzata-Minnetonka Lakers. Three five-run innings were the key for the Robins offense, and helped them take control of the game early on. Mike Madson went 3 for 3 and made several great plays in the outfield. Keith Breding went 4 for 4 with 4 RBI, and Erin Nickell had a triple, a home run and 6 RBI. She also pitched 4 innings, giving up 3 runs and 6 hits.

On Tuesday, May 11, the Robins will host their second Junior Robins Night at Armstrong High School. This even will be held after the Robins home game against White Bear Lake, and all families are invited to arrive at 4:30 and watch the varsity Robins play. The Junior Robins event will start at 5:45 and run until 7:00, with the events of the evening centering around adapted softball. All participants will be partnered with a varsity player and will learn a wide variety of adapted softball skills. Please contact our coaching staff as soon as possible to register!

The Robins continued to play very well in every possible way this afternoon, beating the Osseo Orioles 13-0. Great fielding, timely hitting and five run innings in the first and fourth innings were the keys to the team’s success in this game. Charlie Wittmer, Steven Halsey, Harrison Lerner, Mike Madson and Erin Nickell all went 3 for 3. Halsey and Lerner both scored 3 runs each and had 2 RBI, Madson had 3 RBI and Nickell had two triples and 5 RBI – she also was the pitcher for all five scoreless innings, allowing just 6 hits.

In a match-up of arch rivals, the Robins offense had a great game and propelled the team to a 13-7 win over the Anoka-Hennepin Mustangs. The Mustangs led the game off with a solo home-run for an early 1-0 lead, but the Robins were able to score 4 runs in the second inning to take back the lead. The game was a back and forth affair for several innings, with each team putting together a few runs here and there, but it was a huge 5 run 6th inning that helped the Robins pull away. Keith Breding, Charlie Wittmer and Steven Halsey all went 3 for 4, while Harrison Lerner, Erin Nickell, Alex Orozco and Ethan Brenna all went 3 for 3, with Brenna hitting his 5th home run of the season. Erin Nickell pitched all 7 innings, allowing 5 earned runs to get the win.