CLEVELAND — Since she was old enough to grip a softball, Morgan Robinson was a pitcher.

The 2010 Slippery Rock High graduate had a style all her own in the circle, including a tell-tale bellow of “whaaaaaa” and a slap of her glove on her thigh when she released each and every pitch.

She struck out 603 batters in her four-year career with the Rockets and parlayed that into a spot on the John Carroll University softball team.

Things were going according to plan for Robinson. Then, suddenly, that plan changed.

Pain in her throwing arm was an indication of something much more serious than simple fatigue after her freshman season with the Blue Streaks.

“I had a stress fracture in my right arm,” Robinson said. “I was in a cast most of the summer.”

When the cast came off and she began throwing again, something wasn’t right.

“It just wasn’t the same,” Robinson said. “I think I could have worked through it if I would have taken the time.”

Robinson, though, decided to reinvent herself.

She had pitched well as a freshman in 2011, going 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA in 24 innings. But to get on the field and play, Robinson was going to have to improvise.

She didn’t see any other choice.

“It was my dream since I was little to play college softball,” Robinson said. “There’s a motto my parents taught me, ‘Don’t do a thing just to do it. Do it to do your best at it.’”

So Robinson moved from the circle to left field. She had rarely played in the field during her high school and club softball careers and had to take a crash course in the nuances of the outfield.

John Carroll head softball coach Erin Brooks was patient and worked with Robinson on learning some new skills.

“The most challenging thing was upping my skills in the outfield,” Robinson said. “If you take a false step, the ball is over your head at this level. It was important to me to get out there and cut my false steps down.”

In the first year of her transformation, Robinson batted .244. This season as a junior, she broke through both at the plate and defensively, hitting .312 with two home runs and 13 RBI.

“Being a regular starting pitcher and having that mentality helped,” Robinson said. “Attack. Execute the little things. As a sophomore, I was a little inexperienced. I felt a whole lot better this year.”

Robinson earned a spot on the Ohio Athletic Conference all-academic team.

She carries a 3.56 GPA as an English major.

The academic standards at John Carroll University are very high.

“If I have to pull an all-nighter once a week to keep my grades up and be able to play softball, I’ll do it,” Robinson said.

Robinson is already feeling her time on the softball field ticking away.

She had one season remaining on the field, but she plans on attending graduate school so she can teach English and coach softball in the future.

“It’s a gift to go John Carroll,” Robinson said. “It’s a gift to put on a jersey and represent the school.”