NATCHITOCHES – Kevin Robinson's beach trip to the Florida gulf coast was cut short by a day, but it was for a good reason as he is headed to another coastal part of the country.
 
Robinson, a right-handed pitcher who just completed his junior season at Northwestern State, is headed to the Cape Cod Baseball League to complete the summer, cutting his family vacation a day short to make travel plans for his new assignment.
 
When Robinson joins the Hyannis Harbor Hawks ahead of their July 20 game against the Chatham Anglers, he will become the first active Demon to play in the nation's most prominent summer collegiate baseball league since 2015 when Adam Oller pitched for the Falmouth Commodores.
 
"It makes it feel like more of an honor," Robinson said. "It validates the work I've put in and makes it feel like it's coming to fruition. It means it's not just our coaches seeing it but other people around the country are seeing it."
 
Robinson will join the Harbor Hawks' roster for the final 11 games of regular season and a potential postseason run.
 
Hyannis entered the All-Star break at 10-14 in third place in the Cape Cod West Division.
 
Robinson will head to the Cape after a junior season in which he shared the team lead with 17 appearances, including eight starts.  He tossed a career-high 57 2-3 innings, pitching to a 3.90 ERA while ranking second nationally in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (16-to-1) and in fewest walks per nine innings (0.47).
 
As the son of a former college baseball player, Robinson said he understands the place the Cape Cod League holds in the pantheon of college baseball summer leagues.
 
"I haven't talked to anybody that has played there, but I've talked to people who now about the Cape," Robinson said. "It's the best competition and a great opportunity. I talked to Bert (NSU head coach Chris Bertrand) and (NSU pitching coach) Dan (Hlad). They're super excited and super proud and excited for me to come back with even more knowledge of the game and to bring that back to campus."
 
Robinson's invitation to the Cape was part of a strong couple of days for Demon pitchers as right-hander Dylan Marionneaux, a classmate of Robinson's, was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Saturday.
 
"It's a testament to what we're trying to build at Northwestern State and the type of pitching staff Dan is building and the program Bert is building," Robinson said. "With this and Dylan getting drafted, people are taking notice what we're doing and the work we're putting in year in and year out."