Slap hitter Ana Bruni leads way for Perkiomen Valley

Ana Bruni is fast - devastatingly fast, even.

The speed is obvious whenever Perkiomen Valley senior steps on the softball diamond. As for the devastating part, you'll have to ask her opponents.

Bruni is so fast that if she puts the ball in play, especially in the dirt, she usually ends up on first base for the Vikings.

If she places a bunt down right in front of a defender, she's likely to beat the throw.

Even on a routine grounder, if the fielder double pumps or bobbles it, Bruni will end up on first base anyway.

The shortstop has always been quick. She says she gets it from her father, Jim, who was a running back at Penn.

She holds the shuttle run record - part of the national physical fitness testing - at Perkiomen Valley West Middle School. Her time was 8.5 seconds. It's a record her sister, Bella, in eighth grade, tried to break this year.

"I just couldn't beat your time," she told Ana when she got home.

But the sprinting didn't stop there. There were neighborhood races she challenged boys to - Bruni usually won - and later college coaches with stopwatches at softball camps she'd impress.

Bruni talks quickly, moves quickly, thinks quickly. It is just a part of her personality. But it isn't just her speed that is impressive for Perk Valley (20-4). For the last two years, she has dedicated herself to learning the ins and outs of slap hitting. This season, the South Florida recruit is batting .576 with 49 hits, 31 runs, 15 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

"She really studies the art of hitting and adjusts well to what the pitchers are doing with her," coach Dan McLaughlin said. "She has a good idea of what to do with any kind of pitch thrown at her. She works really hard on her slapping, spends a ton of time on it."

"Another quality I have is persistence and hard work," Bruni said. "I like to win, don't like to fail, but when I do fail, it is a good experience. I know I have to fail to get better."

It's something she's hoping has caught on with the Vikings, who play Upper Darby on Tuesday in the District 1 Class AAAA semifinals, as Perk Valley looks to return to the district championship, a contest it dropped a season ago.

"That game still makes me mad," Bruni said. "We just didn't hit; we weren't there as a team."

As for this season? "I truly believe we can win this," she said.