Sophomore second baseman
Danielle Robbins is Ashland University softball's X factor – a player who can start a rally at the plate, and stop the opponents' rally in the field.
As a freshman in 2023, Robbins earned first-team All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference honors – becoming the program's first first-team all-conference honoree in four years. A starter at second base and lead-off hitter from the beginning of the campaign, Robbins led the Eagles in batting average (.391), runs scored (30), on-base percentage (.450) and stolen bases (15, tied).
There was a part of last season where it seemed like teams couldn't get Robbins out – because they couldn't. She had 15 multi-hit games as a rookie, including a 4-for-4 showing against Notre Dame College on April 19.
"My mindset was really, 'What can I do to help my team?' I really try to value team over self," said Robbins. "How can I get on base? And if there are runners on, how can I move the runners? A big thing that really helps me in that situation is my walk-up song ("Let Go, Let God" by Jack Cassidy). It really just spoke to me. I was willing to do whatever I could for my team."
At the plate, and on defense – especially on the turf at the new Deb Miller Field at the Archer Ballpark Complex – Robbins quickly became one of the players Ashland could build around.
"Danielle is that kid who amazes me every time I watch her," said Ashland head coach
Emlyn Knerem. "There were so many times last year, that a ball would be hit, and I would think, 'Oh, shoot, that's through.' And then Danielle would show up, and make it look completely effortless. She is just so natural and smooth at second base.
"My jaw drops on a regular basis."
Said Robbins, "Me being competitive, I'm willing to just throw my body out there…and get those balls. I love the opportunity to dive after balls.
"I was so grateful for all of those opportunities. I was given so many opportunities to have the chance to be out there, and I'm very grateful for everything my coaches gave me, and for the kind of support my team gave me. It was just so cool to be able to play on that field, be one of the first few people on that field and make that history of, that's our field."
Robbins came to the Eagles from Jonathan Alder High School, where she won an Ohio Division II state championship.
"I just trusted that wherever I ended up, that's where God wanted me to be," she said. "I had faith through that process. I knew that if I let it (the recruiting process) stress me out, it wasn't going to be fun. And softball's supposed to be fun.
"It was a fun process for me, and I ended up falling in love with Ashland."
Robbins' faith guides her on and off the softball field.
"I believe that God has given me a platform to be able use my abilities and what he's given me to spread the word about Him, and that's really what I'm here for," said Robbins, who is a huddle leader in AU's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and who, along with sophomore center fielder
Ashley Veldheer, is leading a team Bible study. "I try to use my platform with softball to be able to spread the gospel and just spread the good news. (Thanks to) the people in the community of Ashland, I've really had the opportunity to grow and develop more into my faith.
"It's really cool to see how God's been working through us."
Thanks in part to Robbins' play, Ashland softball went from 12 wins in 2022 to 21 wins in 2023. The 2024 season begins on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 16-17) with four games at the Music City Invitational in Tennessee, and the expectation is for another jump – and to finish better than the eighth-place prediction in the Great Midwest preseason poll.
"We are so motivated," Robbins said. "We are so ready to come out as the underdogs and prove everyone wrong," said Robbins.
NEW-LOOK EAGLES READY FOR KNEREM'S SEVENTH SEASON AT THE HELM
Ashland softball's 2024 season starts in Tennessee against McKendree and Parkside on Friday, and Davenport and Illinois Springfield on Saturday.
"The team is excited about this year," Knerem said. "They see it. They see the potential in each other, and they see the potential in the team as a whole. They're really excited about what the future holds, and what the season holds for them."
Robbins and junior pitcher
Cassidy Shaffer are returning All-Great Midwest players, and Veldheer has made the move from shortstop to the outfield – providing impressive speed in center. Junior
Lily Rockwell is in her third season as starting first baseman, senior
Jordyn Severns is back for a fourth season behind the plate, and junior
Bryn Grabowski has come in from NCAA Division III Otterbein to potentially be the No. 1 in the pitcher's circle.
