Senior Bianca Peterson, a mechanical engineering major and starting center fielder for the St. Thomas softball team, uses her vision in the classroom to make machines, while coach John Tschida used his vision and experience to make Peterson a machine on the softball field.
“The greatest thing about her is that she actually struggled as a freshman just putting everything together,” Tschida said. “She just got more and more mature in regards to her work ethic and just holding herself accountable.”
Interested in advancing her career as a professional while remaining active with softball, Peterson said coming to St. Thomas in 2011 was an easy decision.
“First, academically because they have mechanical engineering and not a whole lot of schools in this area have engineering. And it’s closer to home, which I wanted,” Peterson said. “Also … St. Thomas is very well known in the softball world. In high school, I always heard about the success of St. Thomas, and I just wanted to go to a team where I’d be pushed.”
Peterson, who holds a 3.2 GPA in her field of study, said it’s difficult to balance academic obligations and a Division-III athletic schedule. Peterson also said she has learned time management skills over the years and gives credit to Tschida.
“(Tschida) really just shows you how to work hard, which carries over to every aspect of your life. You just learn how to work hard, and it just goes on from there,” Peterson said.
A Hopkins High School alumna, Peterson earned three All-Conference honors and two All-State honors on the field for the Royals, along with an academic All-American award in her senior year.
Though she appears to be a natural on the field, Peterson initially did not want to get into the game.
“My dad was a baseball player, so he kind of introduced me to softball. I actually didn’t really want to start playing competitively,” Peterson said. “When I was really little … he made me try out for some team, and then I actually really liked it.”
This season, Peterson has stood out as one of the leaders on the St. Thomas softball team. In 36 games this season, Peterson achieved career highs in home runs, RBIs, batting average and slugging percentage, which she attributes to focusing on the minute details of the game.
“Tschida is such a great coach. He’s always on you every practice, so you just hold yourself accountable to fix whatever you need to fix in your swing,” Peterson said. “I think everything is just starting to click this year. I’m really understanding some things I didn’t understand last year about my swing.”
This season, Peterson has hit eight home runs and 13 doubles, driven in 46 runners and has a .407 batting average. Peterson also credits a lot of her success this season to relaxing and staying in the moment at the dish.
“(My approach is) to just relax. As a senior, you want to be the one to hit the runners in,” she said. “I think the more I can just relax at the plate and just compete, rather than worrying about my last at-bat, really just has made me more successful this year than any other year.”
As the Tommies begin NCAA tournament play against Linfield on Friday, Peterson and her teammates will be working to return to another College World Series.
“Going to the World Series last year was the best highlight of my softball career,” Peterson said. “You’re all playing for each other, and it’s just the most amazing feeling when you close out a game in the World Series.”
Jordan Kruger can be reached at krug6172@stthomas.edu.