'Like a mad scientist': How Hayley Busby developed into OSU softball's cleanup hitter
Scott WrightOklahoman
Hayley Busby committed to the Oklahoma State softball program while it was in the middle of its run at the Women’s College World Series in 2019.
Busby, a power-hitting transfer from Virginia, saw the opportunity to join a team that was building toward great things.
But with that move came some nerves and internal pressure to produce.
Busby batted .258 with two home runs and 11 runs batted in during her 24 games as a Cowgirl in 2020.
Yet the pandemic-shortened season gave Busby confidence to let go of that internal pressure.
More:'He's remarkable': How Kenny Gajewski tamed his stuttering to become face of OSU softball
A little more than a year later, Busby is batting .391 with a team-best 16 home runs and 42 RBIs, anchoring the Cowgirl lineup from the cleanup spot as second-seeded OSU enters pool play at the Big 12 Tournament.
Oklahoma State faces third-seeded Texas at 11 a.m. and fifth-seeded Iowa State at 5 p.m. Friday at Hall of Fame Stadium, with hopes of reaching Saturday’s 3 p.m. title game.
“I’m a little more comfortable in my second year being here, getting comfortable with the coaches and my teammates,” said Busby, a senior who regularly fills the designated player role. “I think that putting my head down and going to work has really helped with the success I’ve had so far.”
Busby didn’t come out of the gate crushing the ball this season. She had three extra-base hits — a homer and two doubles — in 13 February games. She came alive with an 11-game hitting streak in mid-March and has been a tough out ever since.
Busby homered twice against OU last weekend and has driven in 17 runs in her last 17 games.
More:How to watch Oklahoma State softball in the Big 12 tournament
“Timing is one of those things — everybody’s got their own time or pace of when they settle in,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “For whatever reason, I think Hayley was trying to prove to me that she was good. And I’m trying to keep reminding her, ‘We knew you were good. That’s why we went after you when you got on the portal.’
“Even these really talented kids that are transferring in here, they have to go through what a freshman goes through. They can go through it a little faster, because they’ve got the experience, but every one of these kids has to find their way here.”
Gajewski had seen her power in batting practice and knew Busby was a heart-of-the-order hitter. But when she struggled, Gajewski moved her down in the lineup.
“We’re thinking, as a staff, we’re helping her by moving her down,” Gajewski said. “In her mind, she’s going, ‘They don’t think I can play,’ and her confidence goes down.
“It’s why you coach. It’s like a mad scientist trying to get the right potions in each deal to make it go.”
Finally, the science experiment worked, and Busby has become one of the Cowgirls’ most important hitters, with an .852 slugging percentage.
“I was really nervous coming in and transferring to a bigger program, to a more successful softball program,” Busby said. “I put more pressure on myself than I needed to last year, and this year I just told myself, we’re just here to have fun. We’re a really good team, so I just had to have my teammates pick me up and be behind me, no matter what.”
Big 12 softball tournament
at USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma CityOU's games Friday: vs. Baylor (2 p.m., ESPN+) and vs. Texas Tech (7:30 p.m., ESPN+)
OSU's games Friday: vs. Texas (11 a.m., ESPNU) and vs. Iowa State (5 p.m., ESPN+)
