Former Spartan Shellie Robinson Moving Forward in Second Season with NPF's Akron Racers
8/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Former USC Upstate standout Shellie Robinson became the third player in program history to be drafted during the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Draft and has made a solid impression so far in her brief professional career.
Robinson, a two-time ASUN Player of the Year, wrapped up an epic career at Upstate in 2015 as arguably one the top offensive player in the history of the program. She is the all-time leader for the Spartans in slugging percentage, runs scored, home runs, total bases and walks. Robinson is the program's top offensive player since Upstate moved to Division I for the 2008 season.
A native of DeLand, Fla., Robinson was the 23rd pick of the first round by the Akron Racers, becoming the second player in school history to be drafted by the Racers joining former all-time pitching great Morgan Childers in 2011.
Robinson is currently in her second season with the Racers and is listed on the roster as a utility player. The professional experience has been one to remember for her that includes hitting a home run off former Olympian Monica Abbott, who is the highest paid player in the NPF.
"Playing for the Akron Racers has been such a blessing to me," said Robinson. "The organization is well-managed and we get taken care of very well. Joey Arietta, our GM, cares so much for her players and strives to make sure we always feel comfortable. I absolutely love playing for her and our coaches."
Arrietta, also the owner of the Racers, has been pleased with Robinson's development and ability to adjust to the professional level.
"When I drafted Shellie a year ago I really saw a unique person and athlete," Arrietta said. "The scouting reports were just really positive about her ability to play at this level and I think she demonstrated in her first season that she can handle moving the dial on her athletic ability. I saw a lot of room in her development as a player. She has not disappointed me at all and is everything I thought she would be."
This season, Robinson has started in 28 of the 31 games she has played in, and is hitting .278 with two home runs and 17 RBI. She began her career last season by finishing third on the team with a .515 slugging percentage and fifth after hitting .265.
Playing with the top players in the sport of softball has been Robinson's biggest adjustment to her game so far.
"The biggest adjustment from college to the pros was probably consistently playing the top competitors in the game," she said. "It has been a very humbling experience playing with the best and it is so nice to work with the other players day in and day out."
Despite no longer wearing an Upstate uniform, Robinson has taken valuable lessons from her days in Spartanburg and carried that over to Akron.
"There are so many things that I learned at Upstate that have carried over into pro ball," stated Robinson. "Even though I am still learning each day, I keep a lot of our hitting philosophies in the back of my mind from playing at Upstate."
The Racers currently sit at 20-21 on the season and are in third place of the league standings behind the USSSA Pride and Scrap Yard Dawgs. Akron has nine games remaining on its schedule and wraps up the season on August 12 against the USSSA Pride.
To follow both Robinson and the Racers the rest of this season, log on to www.akronracers.org.
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