The Robins got back on track this afternoon with a nice 9-3 win over Minneapolis. Another slow start at the plate and in the field kept this game close, with the Robins leading 2-1 heading into the fourth inning. The bottom half of the Robins batting order came to life in the fourth, starting the inning with five consecutive hits before recording an out. Ultimately, the finished the inning with eight hits and five runs to take a solid lead, 7-1. Defensively, the Robins started to look like their usual selves today, as fielding errors were kept to a minimum. Shortstop Vincent Luu had an incredible day in the field turning an unassisted triple play and an unassisted double play in back-to-back innings to keep Minneapolis off the score board. Izear Joiner and Sam Roles both were perfect at the plate in this game, and both hit home runs to lead the charge for the Robins. Joiner led the team with 3 RBI. Roles pitched all 7 innings and did a great job fielding his position. The Robins are at Mounds View on Tuesday, April 30.

The Robins fell behind early, but staged a huge comeback before eventually losing to the Anoka-Hennepin Mustangs, 13-12. A slow start at the plate and several fielding errors had the Robins struggling early on, trailing 10-2 in the bottom half of the fifth inning. They started the fifth inning with four consecutive hits to get the offense going before ultimately bringing five runs across the plate. This offensive outburst helped get the defense going in the sixth inning as the Mustangs were retired without a hit. The Robins bats stayed hot in the bottom of the sixth inning, knocking out seven hits and scoring five more runs to given them a 12-10 lead heading into the seventh inning. A fielding error led to three Mustang runs in the seventh, and then the Robins batters were retired in order to close out the game. Maddie Ausk and Sam Roles both went 4-4 while Edgar Kinanga, Lucas Harper, Darius Larson and Ethan Sullivan all recorded three hits each.

The Robins got the adapted softball season off to a nice start with a solid 13-8 win over the Osseo Orioles. This game was a back and forth affair for the first couple innings before the Robins’ bats got going in the third inning, where they scored three times to take a 4-3 lead. Four more runs in the fourth inning and five runs in the fifth propelled the Robins to victory. Izear Joiner and Vincent Luu had the hot bats in this game, both going 4-4 at the plate and scoring a combined six runs. Marcus Brady had 3 hits, while Lucas Harper and Kajon Terrell had 2 RBI each. Sam Roles was the winning pitcher.

In the state semifinals against Rochester, the Robins put together one of their most complete efforts of the season. They battled for all three periods on both ends of the floor and came away with a 7-2 upset victory over the #1 seeded Raiders. As was the case when these teams met at the Rochester Tournament in January, it was a tight, close game for two periods, however this time, the Robins were the ones that got hot and pulled away in the third period. Vincent Luu finished the game with 5 goals and 2 assists, while Sam Roles had 2 goals and 2 assists. Edgar Kinanga and Darius Larson were solid all game long defensively, and goalkeeper Marcus Brady was focused and tought to beat, making 18 saves.

The state championship game saw the Robins facing the Brainerd Warriors for the third time this season. Unfortunately, this time the Robins came out a bit flat and fell behind 4-0 in the first period. They showed signs of life in the first part of the second period, as Vincent Luu found the net to make the game 4-1. The rest of the Robins responded well and they mounted a solid offensive effort for the first 5 minutes of the second period before Brainerd got hot and pulled away. The Warriors led 9-1 after two periods, and won the game with a final score of 13-1. Vincent Luu, Izear Joiner and Sam Roles were named to the Wells Fargo All-Tournament Team.

While the entire team hoped for a better performance against the Warriors, the 2018-2019 hockey season turned out to be a HUGE success for the Robins. With so many unknowns and many new, young players there was much for the Robins to learn this season, Combine this with the fact they graduated their starting goalkeeper from last year, the challenge was that much greater. This group was determined to work hard and get better every day, and that’s exactly what they did! Early on, much of the team was just optimistic to make the state tournament, yet they grew by leaps and bounds and fount themselves playing for a state championship! It was a tremendous season, Robins…you all should be very proud of yourselves!

The Robins opened the 2019 adapted floor hockey state tournament with a nice 10-5 win over the St. Paul Humboldt Hawks. Sam Roles and Vincent Luu did most of the heavy lifting with 5 goals and 2 assists each, however the rest of the Robins did their part to carry the team to victory. Everyone put in a solid effort on both ends of the floor and showed they are determined to make the most of this weekend. Izear Joiner, Maddie Ausk, Nick Johnson and Lucas Harper all finished the game with 1 assist each. The Robins will face the #1 seeded Rochester Raiders in the semifinals at 10:30 on Saturday. #Robination