What’s running through the mind of a softball pitcher as she’s glaring toward the plate before making a pitch? If Smackover’s Karis Robinson is in the circle, maybe you really don’t want to know.
Robinson, who signed last week with SAU-Tech, has been half of the Lady Bucks’ dominating call to arms with junior Malorie Pullin. The statuesque senior has made her presence known in the circle and the batter’s box, where she’s moved up from sixth to third in the batting order this season.
And she’s done it all with just a little bit of attitude.
“I’m very humble but cocky at the same time,” Robinson said. “I feel like you have to have a little bit of a swag. I was taught when I used to go to pitching lessons, you can tell an athlete by the way they walk off the bus. You have a little swag to you. I feel like when you go on the field, you need to own it. If you’re good, own it.”
Smackover has gotten off to a 19-2 start on the season. Robinson has been a huge contributor to the team’s success. In addition to her pitching, she’s batted over .500 and leads the team in homers and RBI.
“She’s a competitor. She hates to lose,” said Smackover coach Dennis Steele. “The thing about Karis is she wants to be perfect. That’s her attitude. She wants to be perfect and works hard to be perfect.”
Robinson’s aim for perfection might include a slice of sass. Not necessarily a trash talker but, ooh, if you could hear what she’s thinking?
“I feel like when I’m up to bat, I’m surrounded by little puppy dogs and I’m the bulldog. You know like a pit bull, they’re aggressive? That’s how I am. I’m aggressive up there. I just feel like I am that person. I am the bulldog and I’m surrounded by a whole bunch of little puppies,” she explained.
“As a pitcher, I usually try to throw my batter off. As a batter, you’re usually expecting a fastball down the middle to get ahead in the count. Me pitching, I want to throw you off so I’m going to throw my off-speed. So when I’m batting, I’m expecting you to throw me trash because, first pitch, you’re expecting a strike. So I’m just expecting whatever. I don’t know how to explain it in my head but, like I’m expecting you to throw me something bad and I’ll hit it. I feel like you’re supposed to hit everything. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Somehow, though, it makes sense to Robinson. She’s a bulldog. Her opponents are puppies. Although a pit bull as a competitor, Steele said, truly, neither her bark nor her bite is vicious.
“They’ll hit a ball right back at her and she’ll catch it and she’ll stare right back at the runner and then throw ‘em out. Like they did something wrong to her,” he laughed. “She’s a fierce competitor. But if she tags a girl hard, she’ll apologize. No, she’s a good person. But, hey, you want her on your side because she is a fierce competitor.”
Robinson has been a key arm in Smackover’s pitching arsenal since she was a freshman. Perhaps her biggest improvement this season, though, has been her hitting. At nearly 6-feet tall, “5-10 ½ but I’m going to call it 6-foot,” she said, she reaches pitches some batters can’t. She considered herself a bad ball hitter.
“I feel like when you throw a bad ball, you’re going to try to get them to swing. O.K., say you have an 0-2 count and I’m going to throw you trash, just to get you to swing. I feel like I’m going to hit that,” she said. “What you’re trying to strike me out on, you’re not going strike me out. I feel like I’m going to hit your stuff. You can’t throw me something to strike me out. I feel like I’m going to hit it every time. Compared to my teammates, I’m the tallest one out there and my wingspan is really long. So, an outside pitch to them is way out. That’s on the barrel of my bat.”
Remember, she’s a pit bull playing with puppies.
“I think of myself and it’s bad to think but I’m better than you when I’m up to bat. I’m better than the pitcher,” she said. “When you’re pitching, you want to be better than the batter.”
Quick-witted with a unique sense of humor, it’s difficult to tell when Robinson is being serious or when her tongue is planted firmly in her cheek, especially over the telephone.
But when it comes to the Lady Bucks as a team, she doesn’t speak of pit bulls or puppy dogs – it’s serious softball for a Smackover team with big dreams.
“I feel like we’re going to go all the way. With our pitching, we’re both really different. We bring something different to the table. I feel like we’re state-bound and we’re going to win it, especially if our pitching is on,” Robinson said. “Malorie has a really good rise ball and I have a really good changeup, off-speed screwball. So, when you throw both of us, you don’t know what to expect. It’s speed and I’m going to throw you off with my spin.”
Robinson said she’s eager to see what college softball will be like and hopes to, perhaps, move on to a four-year program. If that doesn’t work out, she said she’d like to go to Texarkana and study Mortuary Science and become a mortician.
“It’s on the dark side, definitely,” she chuckled.
Robinson is a girl with a plan. Even if no one understands that plan but her, she knows exactly what she wants to do. So far, it has worked out well for the Lady Bucks.
“I’ve had a fantastic season. It’s been really fun so far with the girls. We’re all getting along really good,” she said. “Bats are coming along. I’m excited to see what the future holds and see how far I can go. I’m definitely going to better myself. I feel like this is for the better and I’ll push myself even harder to become the best I can be. I’m really excited.”By Tony Burns
Sports Editor
What’s running through the mind of a softball pitcher as she’s glaring toward the plate before making a pitch? If Smackover’s Karis Robinson is in the circle, maybe you really don’t want to know.
Robinson, who signed last week with SAU-Tech, has been half of the Lady Bucks’ dominating call to arms with junior Malorie Pullin. The statuesque senior has made her presence known in the circle and the batter’s box, where she’s moved up from sixth to third in the batting order this season.
And she’s done it all with just a little bit of attitude.
“I’m very humble but cocky at the same time,” Robinson said. “I feel like you have to have a little bit of a swag. I was taught when I used to go to pitching lessons, you can tell an athlete by the way they walk off the bus. You have a little swag to you. I feel like when you go on the field, you need to own it. If you’re good, own it.”
Smackover has gotten off to a 19-2 start on the season. Robinson has been a huge contributor to the team’s success. In addition to her pitching, she’s batted over .500 and leads the team in homers and RBI.
“She’s a competitor. She hates to lose,” said Smackover coach Dennis Steele. “The thing about Karis is she wants to be perfect. That’s her attitude. She wants to be perfect and works hard to be perfect.”
Robinson’s aim for perfection might include a slice of sass. Not necessarily a trash talker but, ooh, if you could hear what she’s thinking?
“I feel like when I’m up to bat, I’m surrounded by little puppy dogs and I’m the bulldog. You know like a pit bull, they’re aggressive? That’s how I am. I’m aggressive up there. I just feel like I am that person. I am the bulldog and I’m surrounded by a whole bunch of little puppies,” she explained.
“As a pitcher, I usually try to throw my batter off. As a batter, you’re usually expecting a fastball down the middle to get ahead in the count. Me pitching, I want to throw you off so I’m going to throw my off-speed. So when I’m batting, I’m expecting you to throw me trash because, first pitch, you’re expecting a strike. So I’m just expecting whatever. I don’t know how to explain it in my head but, like I’m expecting you to throw me something bad and I’ll hit it. I feel like you’re supposed to hit everything. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Somehow, though, it makes sense to Robinson. She’s a bulldog. Her opponents are puppies. Although a pit bull as a competitor, Steele said, truly, neither her bark nor her bite is vicious.
“They’ll hit a ball right back at her and she’ll catch it and she’ll stare right back at the runner and then throw ‘em out. Like they did something wrong to her,” he laughed. “She’s a fierce competitor. But if she tags a girl hard, she’ll apologize. No, she’s a good person. But, hey, you want her on your side because she is a fierce competitor.”
Robinson has been a key arm in Smackover’s pitching arsenal since she was a freshman. Perhaps her biggest improvement this season, though, has been her hitting. At nearly 6-feet tall, “5-10 ½ but I’m going to call it 6-foot,” she said, she reaches pitches some batters can’t. She considered herself a bad ball hitter.
“I feel like when you throw a bad ball, you’re going to try to get them to swing. O.K., say you have an 0-2 count and I’m going to throw you trash, just to get you to swing. I feel like I’m going to hit that,” she said. “What you’re trying to strike me out on, you’re not going strike me out. I feel like I’m going to hit your stuff. You can’t throw me something to strike me out. I feel like I’m going to hit it every time. Compared to my teammates, I’m the tallest one out there and my wingspan is really long. So, an outside pitch to them is way out. That’s on the barrel of my bat.”
Remember, she’s a pit bull playing with puppies.
“I think of myself and it’s bad to think but I’m better than you when I’m up to bat. I’m better than the pitcher,” she said. “When you’re pitching, you want to be better than the batter.”
Quick-witted with a unique sense of humor, it’s difficult to tell when Robinson is being serious or when her tongue is planted firmly in her cheek, especially over the telephone.
But when it comes to the Lady Bucks as a team, she doesn’t speak of pit bulls or puppy dogs – it’s serious softball for a Smackover team with big dreams.
“I feel like we’re going to go all the way. With our pitching, we’re both really different. We bring something different to the table. I feel like we’re state-bound and we’re going to win it, especially if our pitching is on,” Robinson said. “Malorie has a really good rise ball and I have a really good changeup, off-speed screwball. So, when you throw both of us, you don’t know what to expect. It’s speed and I’m going to throw you off with my spin.”
Robinson said she’s eager to see what college softball will be like and hopes to, perhaps, move on to a four-year program. If that doesn’t work out, she said she’d like to go to Texarkana and study Mortuary Science and become a mortician.
“It’s on the dark side, definitely,” she chuckled.
Robinson is a girl with a plan. Even if no one understands that plan but her, she knows exactly what she wants to do. So far, it has worked out well for the Lady Bucks.
“I’ve had a fantastic season. It’s been really fun so far with the girls. We’re all getting along really good,” she said. “Bats are coming along. I’m excited to see what the future holds and see how far I can go. I’m definitely going to better myself. I feel like this is for the better and I’ll push myself even harder to become the best I can be. I’m really excited.”