Jaden Robinson is thriving now, not quite 2 1/2 years after his premature entry into the world. The little guy is the same age as mom Christie Robinson’s Metro State softball program, ranked in the top 10 in Division II.
He doesn’t grasp the concept of winning and losing, but he is the personal ball shagger for Robinson, the Metro State senior pitching ace with a 10-1 record and a 1.73 ERA.
“Mommy’s ball!” Jaden announces when he hands over the ball.
The UNLV transfer lifted the Roadrunners into instant Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contention a year ago. Now, the third-year program leads the RMAC, with a 24-3 overall record, 21-2 in conference. In this week’s Division II poll, Metro jumped six spots to No. 4 in the nation.
“Everything she does is amazing,” said catcher Lauren Hainlen, a Chaparral High product. “She raises her son, she still comes to school, she has a job, she comes to practice. When she’s here, it’s all about softball.”
As part of her major in human performance and sport facility management, Robinson has an internship at the Denver Coliseum.
When class conflicts call, teammates babysit.
“We’re all like his aunts,” Hainlen said.
Robinson had it all as a UNLV sophomore. She was the 2007 Mountain West Conference pitcher of the year, first-team all-MWC and a two-time academic all-MWC. Coming from the rainy Puget Sound, Las Vegas weather was ideal. The facilities were even better.
“It was my dream to play at a Division I school,” Robinson said.
Then Robinson discovered she was pregnant soon after her sophomore season. At first she thought of redshirting at UNLV, but a coaching change and Division I demands prompted second thoughts.
“I started looking for other options that would work for me and work for Jaden,” said Robinson, who sat out the 2008 season.
It was around that time Metro State revived its softball program, dormant since 1990. Jen Fisher, a successful coach at Otero Junior College in La Junta, took on the challenge. A connection with a former UNLV teammate who transferred from Otero prompted Robinson to check out Fisher. It helped that the baby’s father’s family lived in the Denver area.
“Coach Fisher was aware of my situation and very cool with it,” Robinson said. “I wanted to at least try to play. Of course, I wanted to finish school. The whole time I was thinking I’d go to give it my best shot. If it’s not going to work for Jaden, it’s not going to work for me.”
After the long recovery from a C-section and early scares from Jaden’s premature birth, she was back in softball shape.
“I knew for sure I would finish school,” she said. “I was for sure going to be the best mom I can for Jaden. I set my priorities that Jaden is No. 1, school is No. 2 and softball is No. 3.”
Robinson and Hawaii Pacific transfer Kellie Nishikida are Metro State’s only out-of-staters. The Colorado contingent claims one of the leading names in area sports history. Junior left fielder Jennessa Tesone is the granddaughter of legendary Cherry Creek football coach Fred Tesone.
Starting with a 32-18 overall mark in 2008, Metro has developed into a national power.
“A lot of that is attributed to Coach Fisher,” Hainlen said. “We all have in our mind we want to perform well and get this program somewhere so some day we can look back and say, ‘We helped build that.’ “
In an era of budget slashing, Metro State added a sport. Athletic director Joan McDermott said her background as a softball coach and the local talent pool made it an easy sell. The annual budget is under $200,000. Fundraising comes from participating in the Denver Broncos concession and security programs for area organizations and putting on youth clinics.
The Roadrunners aren’t all about pitching. They lead Division II in home runs, or, as Fisher jokes, “There’s no humidor like the Rockies have.”
She credits the players who started the program. “The juniors have really built the program (into) something to be proud of in the community and the classroom and on the field.”
As much as Robinson’s right arm, Fisher welcomes the mini-mascot.
“You can look at him as being a distraction or you can look at him as adding to our team,” Fisher said of Jaden. “We are trying to teach life skills here, not just softball, and it’s really neat for our players that don’t have children yet to see what it takes.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
