Justin Busekrus: Metro Player of the Week
By: Sophie Ozier
After leading the Metro Collegiate Trojans to a 10-game winning streak, centerfielder, Justin Busekrus has been named Metro Player of the Week.
“Basically he got hot and we won 10 in a row,” said Trojans head coach, Garrett Bauer. “We lost yesterday (Wednesday) and he went 0-4, so that kind of shows you how big of a role he’s played on our team.”
In the second week of play for the Trojans, Busekrus went 10-13, with two home-runs and 10 RBIs. He continued his success the next week, hitting .481 (13-27) with one homer and 11 RBIs. Busekrus has the second highest batting average in the league (.463) and leads the league with 25 RBIs.
“That 10- game stretch, he went off. He put us ahead, he brought us back in games we were behind, he extended leads when we were up. He’s been in a lot of situations to score guys and he’s stepped up and done it.”
Last year, Busekrus played for the Metro Collegiate Rebels where he hit .333 for the season. He was later selected to play in the 2014 Metro Collegiate All-Star Game for the American Team and was a consensus selection to repeat in 2015.
Despite only coaching him 14 games, Bauer attributes most of Busekrus’ success to his extreme consistency and competitiveness.
“He wants to do more than just be part of the game. He wants to make an impact play, get a good hit, get a good RBI, throw a guy out, make a good diving catch. He’s an all-around impact player.”
In Bauer’s first year as the coach for the Metro Collegiate Trojans, the team has won 10 of their last 11 games (12-2 overall) and maintained 2nd place in the league, trailing the Dodgers by just one game.
“I’m beyond being impressed and surprised with the talent I have on my team and the competitiveness, not just from Justin, but from everybody. It’s a good group of guys and he’s one of the leaders.”
Busekrus spent two seasons at Rend Lake College where he had a career .338 average and drove in 72 runs. The centerfielder transferred to UMSL last fall and hit .375 for the Tritons, adding 6 home-runs and 29 RBIs. At the end of the season, he was named First-Team All-GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conference).
“He makes it fun to watch. When he’s up at the plate, I’m watching in anticipation of him doing something good. You want guys to put a good ball in the outfield and see him run it down, or somebody try to score on him and see him throw them out. He’s the ESPN top-ten play that you want to see.”
