Poland’s Farber to reunite with former teammate
Will join former Bulldog Brooke Bobbey at St. Bonaventure University for softball
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POLAND -- From a young age, Abby Farber and Brooke Bobbey have had a close bond.
The duo have played softball together on youth teams, travel teams and eventually their high school team at Poland since they were around 10 years old. Farber and Bobbey were both also part of the Poland community 14-U team that won the Junior League Softball World Series in 2017 in Kirkland, Washington.
The bond that the pair has fostered on the softball diamond will now continue at the collegiate level, as Farber, a current Poland senior, announced her commitment to St. Bonaventure, where Bobbey is currently a sophomore, this past week.
"It's definitely a relief because the recruiting process is so hard, but I chose St. Bonaventure because I love the coaching staff and the campus really felt like a good fit for me," Farber said. "(Bobbey and I) played together for awhile, so it's going to be really fun getting to be back playing with each other."
A multi-sport athlete, Farber has been a basketball standout for the Bulldogs as well, but softball has always been her first love.
"I love basketball and I had a great time playing basketball this year," Farber said. "It was a tough (decision) just because our basketball season this year went really well and it always has in past years...but I've always loved softball just a little bit more."
Now in her second year with the Bonnies, Bobbey is excited to reunite with one of her longtime friends.
"I don't think anyone from our area has ever played at Bonaventure before, so it'll be exciting to have a friendly face on campus with me," Bobbey said. "Especially from playing with her in the past, she's one of the hardest-working athletes I know, so her coming up and playing at this level with me will be very exciting."
Bobbey was an instrumental part of Farber's recruiting process. Having fallen in love with the school during her own recruiting process and knowing Farber's work ethic, Bobbey said she felt Farber would be a good fit with the team and the program.
Last year, Farber went to St. Bonaventure's offseason camp for high school prospects at the end of August. At the camp, Bobbey helped introduce Farber to the Bonnies' coaches and players and served as a resource that Farber could utilize for information about the school.
"I wanted to make sure it'd be a perfect fit and that she'd really want to play here, which I thought she'd be perfect for," Bobbey said.
"She's been a great help through the whole process," Farber added.
Unfortunately, the two had one season together taken away from them due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Farber was a sophomore that year, while Bobbey was a senior.
Like for most high school athletes, the pandemic had a significantly negative effect on her recruiting process.
"A lot of the camps were canceled because of COVID, but it all worked out in the end," Farber said.
Poland head coach Jim Serich has seen firsthand how Farber has grown as a player since she first started on the Bulldogs varsity squad as a freshman.
During Farber's first year, she was a part of a team that went 29-1 and made it all the way to the Division II state semifinal. Bobbey was a junior on that squad.
Farber hit for a .465 average that season, while leading the team in triples. She had a .429 average last year as a junior and is currently six games into her senior season.
"It's just attributed to the work that she's put in," Serich said. "She's been bought in from day one when she came in as a freshman...It's been fun watching her get better and better. I look forward to following her at St. Bonaventure and she should be an asset for them and I hope she has a lot of success there.
nmadhavan@tribtoday.com