MSUB SPORTS – It was spring in the early 2000s and Julie Reuther had a conundrum.
 
The bruises on her upper palm were purpling to the point that it was affecting her work as a nurse, her lack of owning a catcher's glove partially to blame. She didn't like the thought of abandoning her regular front-yard game of catch with her son, but by the time Lee Busto was nine his right arm had grown too powerful and Reuther gave way to a Pitchback net.
 
Since then, Reuther has watched her son grow into an NCAA Division II pitcher as Busto is now a senior on the Montana State University Billings baseball team. Known for his trademark, sidearm delivery, Busto has represented the Yellowjackets on the field with the sixth-most appearances (70) in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history, and off it as a three-time academic all-GNAC selection while completing a business degree.
 
With graduation set for Saturday, Busto is guaranteed one final home series as the Yellowjackets compete for a conference tournament berth at Dehler Park Thursday and Friday against Saint Martin's. Reuther is making the eight-hour trip from her hometown of Littleton, Colo., to attend her son's Senior Day ceremony on Friday, and to watch him play for a final time.

As Busto takes to the mound this weekend, he'll reflect back on his five years at MSUB and consider the turnaround he has witnessed within the program. From a 21-27 record his first year to MSUB's first-ever winning record and championship a season ago, with two different arm angles and thousands of pitches in between, myriad navy and gold memories will flash through his mind.
 
He'll recall experimenting with different pitch grips and his mother bravely holding up a target for as long as she could. The teammates he has met have turned into his closest friends, a connection built between them through the game's brightest – and darkest – moments. He'll always play with Kaiser Carlile in his heart, 'KC' permanently etched into his cap to remind him of the fragility of life.
 
Busto will be remembered for his willingness to take the ball in any game, no matter what the situation or what task head coach Rob Bishop requested of him. "Lee can literally pitch in any role in the bullpen," Bishop commented. "It is really unusual for a guy to be able to adjust so quickly to whatever the team needs that day. He is resilient and mentally tough in addition to being in exceptional physical condition."
 
GROWING INTO THE GAME

At an age where the position of pitchers hadn't yet factored into the game, Busto already had a nose for the mound. Playing in a machine-pitch league as a kid, Busto's coaches had to talk him out of playing pitcher and guide him into an actual position on the field at first base.
 
"I always wanted to pitch, and I imagined doing it in my front yard," Busto recalled. "By my senior year of high school I decided to pitch full time, and that's when it became clear that was where I was going to excel."
 
Busto made the diamond his own personal landscape, exploring virtually every position growing up and into high school. Everywhere from second base to outfield was home in Busto's first prep years, but he kept pitching in the back of his mind and came into his own on the mound as a senior.
 
Busto naturally turned his attention to a variety of Colorado schools, before Bishop contacted Busto's high-school coach after watching his recruiting video. "I will never forget coming on a visit, and it snowed the whole way," Busto said. "It turned an eight-hour drive into a 12-hour drive."
 
Busto weathered the storm and made his way onto MSUB's campus for the first time, quickly deciding to sign with the Yellowjackets in November of his senior season.

BUSTO'S BIG BREAK
 
Injuries kept Busto off the diamond as a true freshman, but he was able to gain perspective and bond with new teammate and fellow pitcher Brady Muller in his first year in the program. "Brady and I had a math class together, and we just became really good friends," Busto said. "Then sophomore year Trevor (Nix) and Luke (Reinschmidt) came in, and I really bonded with those guys too."
 
Enduring his first year without competing, Busto was given his first-ever college start on March 7, 2013 in a road game at Concordia University (Ore.). Throwing seven solid innings, Busto had two strikeouts and gave up just one earned run on six hits to earn the win in a 6-4 victory for the 'Jackets.
 

Busto finished the year with 22 1/3 innings pitched over 11 appearances, but it wasn't until the fall of his sophomore season that he took on a mechanical adjustment that would change the way he threw entirely. 
Coming off the mound to field a ball during pitchers' fielding practice, Busto cut loose a sidearm throw to home plate with then-assistant coach Chris Martin looking on. "Coach Martin saw the run on the ball and called me into his office," Busto recalled. "Earlier that summer I had watched David Berg pitch sidearm in the College World Series, but I never really thought that I could do that."
 
Busto spent the following offseason watching hours of video of Berg, a right-hander for UCLA, and taking mental notes on the unorthodox mechanics of his deceptive delivery. "I just noticed how he jumped off the mound, and I told my summer ball coach that year I was going to try it," Busto said. "The first time I went out in the last inning of a game, I faced two guys and struck them both out."
 
Busto never looked back after that, adopting the low, sidearm release point full time. "In order to give Lee an edge and carve out a role for him, we asked him to try a lower arm slot," Bishop said. "He made a quick transition and immediately began making an impact for us."
 
After making the transition, Bishop had a weapon out of the bullpen he knew could be used in any situation, whether it be to face a single batter and get an out in a jam, or cover multiple innings in relief. Busto's 27 appearances in the 2015 season were the third-most in all of the NCAA Division II, and he broke an MSUB single-season record.
 
With 21 more so far this season, he has well surpassed the previous MSUB career mark of 56 held by Brian Howe, and has moved into the top-10 in GNAC history with 70 total.
 
 
GNAC Career Pitching Appearance Leaders

Rk.	Name	School	App.	Years Played
1.	Kalen Hruza	Northwest Nazarene	85	2008-11
2.	Tip Wonhoff	Saint Martin's	80	2004-07
3.	Kaleb Wilson	Saint Martin's	77	2008-12
4.	Nick Patee	Northwest Nazarene	74	2003-06
5.	Chase Decoito	Saint Martin's	71	2012-15
6.	Lee Busto	MSU Billings	70	2013-16
7.	Anthony LaDue	Saint Martin's	69	2010, 2012-14
8.	Aaron Stuvland	Northwest Nazarene	67	2002-05
9.	Ryan Brown	Northwest Nazarene	66	2009-12
	Brad Banker	Saint Martin's	66	2012-15

 
In addition to Busto's adjustment to a new arm slot, he had to transition his mindset from preparing to start and pitch multiple innings to being ready to step into the spotlight with the bases loaded and no outs. "As a reliever you have to be ready to potentially pitch in every game," Busto said. "Whether it's the first or ninth inning, you have to have your mind right and be able to do whatever the team needs you to do."
 
Busto has twice pitched in all four games in a series this season, and has totaled 17 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings pitched in relief. The grind of playing doubleheaders on consecutive days in a weekend hasn't worn on Busto, whose mother noted his competitive nature and will to succeed. "He has always been very driven, especially when he has a passion and focus for something like he does for baseball," Reuther said. "He just loves the sport and it has made him who he is today. He has just done so well in college and we are very proud of him."
 
KC
"He told me he was the shortest kid on the team, but he wasn't the shortstop, and he didn't understand why. I remember him standing on the top step of the dugout, telling us to play hard and have fun." – Lee Busto on the late Kaiser Carlile.
 
Busto ventured to Liberal, Kan., last summer to keep his mechanics sharp and contribute innings to the Liberal Bee Jays in the Jayhawk Baseball League. Joined by Muller, Reinschmidt, Brody Miller, and Matt Hape, Busto and the Yellowjacket contingency fostered camaraderie throughout the off-season.
 
The group was also exposed to tragedy, when nine-year-old team bat boy Kaiser Carlile was struck in the head by a practice swing and later died. Immediately, the game that Busto and his teammates had grown to love was put on hold as the unthinkable accident struck memory of his own days playing ball as a boy.
 
"It just put things into perspective and shows you how valuable life is," Busto said solemnly. "He was just a kid who had fun being out there, and it made you appreciate what you got to do every day."
 

Busto urged his Bee Jays teammates that they needed to play their game that night in Kaiser's honor, and they willed themselves to an emotional, 13-inning victory. Kaiser has been there with Busto in every game he has pitched in since, the initials 'KC' inked into his game hat. "I try to feel like he takes the field with me every time I go out," Busto said. "He makes me remember that you have to give it your all and have fun with what you're doing, because he was always having fun." 
 

A CHAMPIONSHIP STANDARD
"Lee is an absolute 10 in our program. He works hard, is a great teammate, and is an exceptional student. I am proud of the man he has become and what he brings to the field is a bonus. I will definitely miss having him around next year." – MSUB head coach Rob Bishop on senior Lee Busto.
 
In a season filled with ups – winning 20 of 25 games to end the season – and downs – starting the year 1-9 – Busto was a constant in 2015 all the way through the team's run to its first-ever GNAC regular-season title. On the day that MSUB clinched its title, Busto tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts against the Saints in Game 1, and raced out behind the mound to dogpile with his teammates after the final out had been recorded in Game 2.
 
"Just to be picked to finish last and then win the league showed the character of our team," Busto commented on last season's squad. "Coach Bishop has done a great job of getting guys who want to be here, and who want to win. It is great to see the kind of people he has brought in, and how a winning culture at MSUB has been instilled into them."
 
Now in the hunt to defend last season's title and repeat as conference champions, Busto and the 'Jackets will play the final regular-season series of their season at home this weekend as Reuther watches her son live. Busto will earn a business management degree, but plans to return to Kansas this summer for one final season of baseball. "I have just been focusing on baseball, because I know that I'm not going to be able to do it anymore after this," Busto said.
 
Most of all, Busto will treasure the chance to play with his mother in attendance for a final series. "She has always inspired me to do my best," Busto said. "She knows what baseball has meant to me and has always been so supportive of it. She's been willing to go the extra mile to help me, and I don't know what I'd do without her."