PBR Illinois Player of the Week: 1B Bobby Atkinson

Our seventh PBR Illinois Player of the Week honor belongs to St. Rita senior 1B Bobby Atkinson, a Heartland CC commit and one of the top-100-ranked players in the state’s 2021 class.

While Week 7 didn’t go St. Rita’s way, the Mustangs faced one of their most difficult stretches of the season, drawing opponents No. 18 Homewood-Flossmoor, Providence Catholic, No. 15 Brother Rice twice, and they ended the week against No. 5 Marist. Through that daunting six-game stretch, Atkinson went 12-for-17 with five home runs and two doubles, driving in 13 runs total. He also did not strike out at all last week, despite his stiff competition, and walked twice. 

Atkinson’s entire season has been statistically stellar, so impressive that he was recently named the Tony Lawless Award winner, as the best player in the Chicago Catholic League – Blue. Atkinson was enjoying a highly productive season, and it was his huge push last week that potentially clinched him the award. He finished the spring hitting .464 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs. Those numbers also helped him earn a spot on the All-CCL team, too, naturally.

Here’s one of our scouting reports published late last summer, complimenting Atkinson’s well-rounded skillset:

Bobby Atkinson 1B / St. Rita, IL / 2021 From 8/12/20: “The strong, compact 5-foot-10 first baseman wields a loose, easy left-handed bat off a natural uphill plane. Atkinson looks to leverage the ball into the air where he can best apply his inherent power potential. In batting practice, he focused on hard-hit line-drives and fly balls to center field. Atkinson also shows feel around the first base bag.” (8/11/20)