“Even when I was young, I feel like I’ve always just kind of been a leader. I want to be a leader, I want to lead the team,” Baartman, who just finished her junior-year campaign, said. “But, especially having so much experience on varsity now, I feel like it’s easier for me to help lead the younger ones and show them, like, ‘Hey, it may be varsity, but it’s still just the game we’re playing. It’s still softball, don’t overthink it.”

Baartman first joined the varsity squad in seventh grade and quickly established herself as a key component of the Knights’ identity. While she grew up primarily playing catcher, dabbling in the pitching circle some seasons, she made the transition to playing full-time shortstop last year in her sophomore season.

Still, it’s Baartman’s tenacious offensive power that has elevated her name amongst the best Class A players in the state. She was named to the Minnesota Fastpitch Coaches Association’s All-State second team as an eighth grader, and the first team for three consecutive seasons for her freshman, sophomore and now junior year.

“A lot of my success, I just have to give big credits to everyone that supports me throughout my life, like I would not be here without them,” Baartman said. “Everyone — All my teammates and my whole family, just shout out to them, because I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton's Laken Baartman celebrates after stealing third base on April 25 against Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove.

Baartman once again led the Independent’s coverage area this season at the plate. She finished the year with a stellar .611 batting average, a .747 on-base percentage with a 2.043 OPS.

Known for sending pitches over the fence as the Knights’ leadoff batter, Baartman recorded 10 home runs this season. Additionally, her 33 hits, 35 RBIs, 36 runs and only three strikeouts in her 83 plate appearances made other teams quickly aware that she wasn’t taking any step back in her offensive capabilities.

“The big thing is having confidence in myself. I really learned that when I was a freshman and had that big breakout season, is trusting myself, trusting in my game and trusting all the hard work that I put in,” Baartman said of her approach to the plate. “Just believing in myself, and then really locking in on every single pitch. You never know if it’s going to be a ball in the dirt, down the middle, just lock in every pitch. Once you see that, go up there and drive it.”

Baartman noted that her favorite pitches to hit are high balls, joking that the slower pitches aren’t her favorite to attack.

Baartman set the RTR career home runs record in her freshman year with 16 homers, which also still ties her for the Minnesota single-season state record. Vanessa Anderson of Byron and Miranda Litzau from Glencoe-Silver Lake each share the record, achieved in 2015 and 2022, respectively.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton's Laken Baartman fields a ball at shortstop and begins to throw to first for an out on April 25 against Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove.

Hitting six home runs for the varsity squad between her seventh and eighth-grade seasons before even getting to high school, Baartman’s home run total took a dip last season in her sophomore year, to five, as opposing teams made a habit of intentionally walking her.

Yet, Baartman learned how to work around that adversity and took every opportunity she was given this season and made the most of it. She got back to double-digit homers with her 10 despite being walked an area-leading 29 times.

“Everyone tells me it is respect that I’m getting [when intentionally walked], but obviously it’s like half the game getting taken away from you, which does suck … It definitely can be challenging, because I sometimes go up to the plate, and I don’t know if I’m going to be getting pitched to or not,” Baartman said of managing the adversity. “So, that’s a mental block that I had to work around, but just like I said, too, you just have to go up there and lock in. Then, hey, if I do get walked, just take it as a base hit, and trust my team that they’ll get me around the bases.”

Whether she walked or not, Baartman was a force on the basepaths. Her team-high 13 stolen bases helped contribute to her 36 runs this season.

“I definitely believe, and I know the whole team does too, we want to be aggressive on base. To get an extra base, that could be a run that you’re scoring,” Baartman said. “That’s one thing I’ve really been working on, is trying to become a faster runner, so I can take the extra bases. Because, you never know. That could come down to one run, and that could be the game-winning run.”

Photo by Jake McNeill: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton's Laken Baartman rounds third base on April 16 against Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda in Ruthton.

As much as her offense shines, Baartman also does not allow much to get past her on the defensive end, making her an all-around versatile and reliable player anywhere on the field.

Baartman spent her first three years with the Knights as the team’s primary catcher, and she played the position heavily growing up beforehand as well. But, in terms of the team’s needs in the field, she agreed to make the transition to playing full-time shortstop last season and remained in the position this year.

“I just want to play wherever helps the team the best. If I’m at shortstop, then hey, that’s where I’m going to be. If I’m catching, then that’s where I’ll be. But when I’m out at shortstop, I feel like it’s easy for me to be the leader out there in a way, and just control everything that’s going on, so I really liked taking on that role,” Baartman said. “A big thing that I was always taught growing up is to do what’s best for the team.”

After all, contributing to her team’s success through her defense has been the name of the game for Baartman’s athletic career, who has served as the defensive specialist for the RTR volleyball team that has made two state-tournament runs in the last three seasons.

Baartman also noted that she has spent a lot of her time over the years working on her field defense by taking ground balls from her family. Her father Brian and brother Jared are assistant coaches for the Knights, and her uncle Darren is the head coach.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton's Laken Baartman (17) is welcomed by the team at home plate after hitting a home run on April 9 against Adrian in Ruthton.

“I’m thinking about sports all the time, and I’ve made so many memories and so many friendships throughout the sport,” Baartman said. “Playing with my family too, like my brother, dad and uncle as coaches, it means a lot to me. I just love softball a lot.”

RTR has been going through a rebuild the last two seasons after winning its first section championship in program history and going on to place third at the state tournament in Laken’s 2024 freshman season with a 24-5 record.

After graduating five seniors following that season, RTR went 7-14 last year in 2025 but got back on the right track with an 11-10 run this season.

“We wanted to improve every game and just play one game at a time. We didn’t want to overlook any team, just go in and play our game. We wanted to put the pieces together and try to have a better season, and I think overall we did,” Baartman said. “My sophomore season, it wasn’t quite the best. So, having a season over .500 this year, I think that was a goal for us, and we ended up doing it. Going into next year, we want to keep putting the pieces together and make a run, hopefully.”

Despite already accomplishing so much in her young career, Baartman continues to find ways to push herself to elevate her game even more. She said she takes her offseason seriously, prioritizing time in the weight room, taking reps in the batting cages and also playing with the Minnesota Misfits, a fastpitch club team.

While Baartman still has another prep season of softball left, she has already secured another four years of play after and will transition into a Mustang with the Southwest Minnesota State University softball team. She verbally committed in January of this year.

Baartman said she began talking with SMSU head coach Bailey Bouman her freshman year, but escalated conversations later in her sophomore and junior years.

“I went to camp at SMSU, met the whole team, went on campus tours, met with all the coaches again. The big thing with SMSU is just it really feels like home, it really feels like family, and I was big on that,” Baartman said of her decision. “Even when I was younger, if I wasn’t going to think about playing college ball, SMSU was always an option for me. I have always loved it there. Once I met the team and started talking to the coaches, I just knew that was the fit for me.”

Baartman also noted that she grew up going to SMSU softball, volleyball and basketball games, making this a full-circle moment.

Offering a unique experience, RTR got to play a game at Augustana Field this season against Avon, South Dakota, for the Knights’ final regular-season game. Baartman said this day was one of her favorite memories to come from this season, but it also crossed her mind that she will soon be able to play on that same field as a college athlete, as SMSU and Augustana both compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

While she still has more she wants to accomplish, and more memories she wants to make to top off her already incredibly successful prep career, Baartman has credited the game of softball to who she is at the core.

“Softball in general, it means everything to me. All the life lessons I’ve learned throughout life, it really comes down to sports, and not just softball, but volleyball, too,” Baartman said. “But, really, just everything I have learned comes from softball. I have loved sports my whole life, but I never really knew how important it would be.”