Almost everyone realized how talented of a pitcher Hayley Buckley was with the Shepherd Bluejays. But this season, Buckley has proven how talented she can be in the batter’s box as a senior.
It’s her fourth varsity season.
“We have a really good team this year and we have a really good shot of making it pretty far,” Buckley said.
This is Buckley’s best overall season. At the plate, she’s batting .460.
“This is the first year I’ve gotten to bat,” she said. “My coaches in previous years were worried about me getting hurt. This year, I convinced them to give me a shot and I’ve been holding up my end of the deal.”
Coaches wanted Buckley to focus on pitching.
“A lot of times if I would strike out or something, I would be upset with myself,” she said. “Just thinking only about pitching would be easier.”
But being able to bat has been enjoyable.
“I really like it that I can help my team out more,” Buckley said. “I got my first home run at Essexville-Garber. That was really cool.”
As of mid-May, Buckley had 260 strikeouts. The Bluejays were 25-6 and Buckley had done all of the pitching except for one inning. Her ERA is slightly above 1.00.
As a pitcher this season, “I’ve added some speed to it a little bit,” Buckley said. “We had one guy come with a radar gun and he said I was around 60. It’s a little more speed added and more movement on the ball and hitting my spots better.”
Buckley established herself as a talented pitcher her first three seasons.
“My freshman year, I was happy to be on varsity and wanted to (prove) I should be there,” she said. “My sophomore year, I was more open to speak out more because I had been there for a year. My junior year, I definitely felt more comfortable and opened up with the team. This year, we have a strong group of seniors. We’re keeping the whole team motivated and showing how dedicated we are to be here. As a team, we’ve done very well.”
This is “by far” the best team she’s played for, Buckley said.
She started pitching since fifth grade.
“We’ve gone to pitching coaches here or there,” Buckley said. “For the most part, my dad taught me everything pretty much. We looked up stuff on online and figured it out on our own.”
In her first three seasons, Buckley was all-conference and all-district. She was all-state honorable mention last season. She’s planning on entering the Marines.
Buckley also ran cross country and track and played volleyball as a freshman.
Being a hitter this season has complemented her pitching abilities, Buckley agreed.
“When I get a good hit, I go into the next inning feeling good about my team and feeling I’ve done my part,” she said.