College Baseball Pitcher's Weird Windup Leaves Fans And Batters Baffled At NCAA Tournament

College baseball's weirdest windup made its debut on the biggest stage on Saturday. Zane Robbins had his senior year end in Nashville, but plans to return for a fifth season.

Who is Zane Robbins? Let me introduce you.

Robbins came onto my radar for the first time this weekend.

I wanted to take the opportunity to catch some college baseball postseason play. I live in Music City and Vanderbilt is hosting a Regional, but tickets for the Commodores' game against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday night were mostly sold-out. Plus, catching some rays sounded better anyway.

So there I was on Saturday afternoon as Eastern Illinois played Xavier in an elimination game.

Within minutes, I was a massive Panthers fan. Unfortunately, that decision did not end in victory.

They fell behind in the bottom of the second inning, and a three-run dinger in the bottom of the fifth put the game out of reach. Xavier was cooking and Eastern Illinois just didn't have the dudes.

After the Panthers' starter was chased, they turned to their DH as a relief pitcher.

And then it was time for Zane Robbins. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound righty — who they call "Big Country" — came into the game in the eighth inning and I love everything about him.

Zane Robbins (Image courtesy: Eastern Illinois Athletics)

His warmup immediately left me baffled.

I have never, in my entire life, seen a windup like that of Robbins. On any level. I couldn't believe it was real.

Robbins brings the ball down and around and pauses at the top. He then extends the ball to the highest point of his reach and throws down toward the plate.

Here's another look:

Robbins' windup is unlike anything I've ever seen— but it left the Musketeers batters as baffled as I.

He worked 1.2 innings on Saturday, and allowed one run on two hits and a walk. It was a pretty solid outing, considering the circumstances, and Robbins finished the year with a 1.57 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 34.1 innings pitched.

Shoutout to Robbins. It's weird, but it works. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!