The Austin Post 1216 VFW baseball team made a huge transformation to advance to the state tournament this summer, and Austin infielder Ian Bundy has shown his versatility in the field of competition.

Bundy has been a regular in Post 1216’s lineup and he’s also stayed active in golf, a sport since he began playing with his grandpa when he was four years old. While a baseball swing differs from a golf swing, it hasn’t slowed down Bundy in either sport.

Bundy is also an avid bowler as he bowled in the Minnesota singles state varsity tournament last year.

This spring, Bundy competed in varsity golf and junior varsity baseball for the Austin Packers as Austin head coach Joe Kroc allowed him to be with the golf team on meet days. This summer, he’s competed in junior golf tournaments and played for Post 1216.

“It’s been tough, but I’ve found time for both of them,” Bundy said. “I’ve found time for baseball and golf and I’m trying to get better at both of them. I love them both and I really don’t have a favorite. They just came natural to me.”

Bundy, who plays basketball in the winter, said that every sport he competes in helps him to become better under pressure. He’s excited to compete in the VFW state tournament, where Austin will open play in Brainerd at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

“I’m pumped. It’s my last year in VFW and we’ve had a hell of a year,” Bundy said. “We’ve played well as a team and we’ve gotten the job done.”

Post 1216 had a lot of struggles this summer, but coach Zach Huntley said the team turned its season around after it lost 3-2 to Northfield on June 16 with most of its backups in the lineup. That loss gave the team confidence and Austin has lost just one game since then.

“These guys are excited. They don’t really know what this is,” Huntley said about the team’s state berth. “They’re pumped up and ready to go do something up there. We’ll see if we’re too excited by the time we get up there, but I think we’ll be ready to go and we’ll show the state what we’ve got.”

Austin’s Brady Kominek said the team has learned to compete in big games this summer, just like the varsity and Legion teams that also went to state.

“We’ve been coming out mentally strong,” Kominek said. “We play well and we don’t get down on each other. We see how hard the Legion and varsity have worked and that’s helped us out.”