BP’s Bobbie Bruns earns one of softball’s top honors

Only 14 Class A softball players were named first-team All-State by the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association and thanks to her strong hitting and fielding Blooming Prairie shortstop and centerfielder Bobbie Bruns is a part of that elite company.
One of the reasons she’s earned this honor is due to her strong hitting. She led the Blossoms in nearly every offensive statistic, including batting average (.538), on-base percentage (.579), hits (28), doubles (4), triples (2), home runs (4) and runs batted in (20).
Even though she spearheaded Blooming Prairie’s offense, she said she was still super surprised to find out she made first-team All-State.
“It’s exciting and an honor to be on that team. It means a lot because it shows that my hard work has paid off,” she said.
Bruns, who has playing on the varsity team since eighth grade, credits her coaches in helping her become one of the Minnesota’s best Class A players.
“[Head Coach] Jenna [Volgarino], my dad [Assistant Coach John Bruns], Tyler Krekling and former Head Coach Lonnie Lembke have all helped me a lot. They’ve helped me become a more confident hitter, and I’ve been putting in the extra time to be more confident in myself and my game. The more confident you get, the better you play,” she said.
She also believes that her experience of playing on varsity for two prior seasons and having more at-bats and more reps in the field helped her be better prepared and ready for each game.
In addition to having more experience under her belt, she noted that she’s become a better fielder by working on her drop step to get balls that land behind her in the outfield and working on the little things and making sure she’s doing those right.
Last but not least, she mentioned that her teammates’ encouragement has also played a role in helping become an All-State player.
“Every day we’re pushing each other to get better. It will be really tough to be successful without those teammates around you,” she said.
Since her teammates helped her reach this honor, she wants to repay the favor by helping the team be as successful as it can be next spring.
“My main goal is to just have a fun season with the girls because it will be my last one and be as successful as we can be,” she said. “As long as we’re playing hard and having fun, good things will happen.”