As soon as the Porters Chapel Academy Eagles get a lead, the knowing smiles and back slaps start popping up around the dugout.

Their swagger gets a little bigger, the confidence a little higher, almost like a younger brother seeing his big, bad older brother heading toward the playground when there’s trouble. And then the sound starts, like firecrackers popping off in the bullpen.

No matter how the game has gone, good or bad, it’s just about over now.

It’s Busby time.

That’s Michael Busby, PCA’s fireballing ace, whose reputation has grown with every 90 mph fastball and knee-buckling curve he’s thrown. He has gone from being a nearly unhittable starter to a dominant closer and has keyed the Eagles’ playoff run by finishing off three of their five wins and giving the team a confidence boost in the late innings.

&#8220It’s a lot of fun. You pretty much know you’ve got it wrapped up. When he’s throwing like that, it’s lights out,” PCA pitcher Cole Smith said. If things are going PCA’s way, Busby will be on the mound again tonight at the end of Game 2 of the MPSA North State championship series against Tri-County.

Busby finished off Game 1, a 9-6 PCA victory, on Tuesday at Hinds Community College by retiring six of the seven batters he faced. Busby entered Game 1 in the sixth inning and struck out the side on 10 pitches, then retired the Rebels without too much trouble in the seventh to earn his second save of the season.

&#8220I’ve been using him in the closer’s role, and he’s been good,” PCA coach Randy Wright said. &#8220It feels good to know if we can get a lead at the end we can get Michael to come in and finish it.”

Busby gained notoriety when he was throwing 90 mph fastballs as a freshman and helped PCA reach the Class A state finals in 2004. Then, late last season, he felt a twinge in his right arm. It turned out to be a partially torn ligament.

Busby had Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2005 season and began the long climb back. He was throwing again by fall, but not at full strength by the time this season started. He didn’t pitch until the midway point of the season and suffered his first high school loss in his first game back.

Wright’s initial goal was to have Busby back for the playoffs. By the time the regular season ended, Busby’s velocity was back to normal. His stamina was not. Busby still felt some pain when he threw for long stretches, and he threw just 12 innings during the regular season.

So, to get the most out of his ace, Wright found a new role for him – that of a closer. Busby welcomed the challenge.

&#8220My arm won’t let me be a starter anyway right now. As long as I can pitch and help out the team, it’s fine,” Busby said, adding that finishing games requires a different approach to pitching than starting them. &#8220When you’re starting you have to pace yourself. I can give 100 percent for two innings. The adrenaline is pumping. It definitely helps me out.”

Busby has taken to relieving like a fish to water. In three playoff appearances, he has not allowed a run or a hit. The only batter to reach base against him in five innings of work was Tri-County’s Andrew Howell. Busby missed with a 3-2 pitch and walked Howell with two outs in the bottom of the seventh on Tuesday.

The batter before Howell, Brentley Davis, lined out to second. That broke a string of 10 straight strikeouts by Busby that stretched over three games. No one has hit a ball out of the infield against him in the playoffs.

&#8220It’s more excitement. Everybody’s into it. It’s not like the beginning of the game, when everybody’s quiet. I like it,” Busby said of closing. &#8220I think that’s what makes it fun. Everybody looks to me to shut the door.”

His teammates also have a lot of fun watching him. Seeing hitters flail at 90 mph fastballs and curveballs that alternate between breaking at the knees and in the dirt with equal precision provides some quality entertainment as they finish off another opponent.

&#8220Most of them get up there and look at the coach, and the coach says hit the ball. Then they say to the coach, ‘I can’t,’” PCA catcher Spencer Pell said with a laugh. &#8220He’ll throw it 10 feet over their head and they’ll swing. It is fun. It’s a big adrenaline rush. When he’s setting people down left and right, it gets everybody pumped up.”