Cam Schuelke Experience hits Dudy Noble Field

Two-straight seasons in the baseball wilderness has been long enough for Mississippi State and the pitching staff has been the biggest part of Chris Lemonis’ issues.

Finding players that can compete in the strike zone has been the biggest priority for the coach, as was the offseason importance of a new pitching coach. Lemonis got the coach he feels is capable of leading State back to its winning ways and he needed a few pieces to join the current roster to help push things forward for the Diamond Dawgs.

The legend of Cam Schuelke has been something talked about over the last season or so. A crafty right hander from the junior college system, Schuelke is unlike many pitchers perhaps ever seen in Starkville. He learned from a young age the importance of methodically attacking batters rather than beating them with pure power.

That was on full display on Friday night in an 8-4 season-opening win over Air Force.

“You know, he’s done it. He won a national championship last year. He did it in Cape Cod against all those great hitters. He’s just a really mature, tough kid,” Lemonis said of Schuelke. “He just ran out there, and it’s like he thrives in those moments. He’s made to play here, that’s what I told him after the game. I was really impressed with him.”

Schuelke’s debut as a Diamond Dawg was a strong one. The College of Central Florida transfer threw the final 2.0 innings of the game and faced the minimum as he has zero hits, zero runs, zero walks and two strikeouts to earn the save.

An Air Force team that had 10 hits prior to him entering the ball game struggled to pick up the different arm slots and pitches that he threw to the plate.

“Well, your eyes are all over the place. Their three hole, Thomason, he’s a really good hitter, and you just see him have to slow up. The bat speed changes,” Lemonis said of Schuelke’s work. “It’s funky, you’re not used to it, you don’t know what’s coming, and he’s really a tough kid. He ran out there tonight, and I’m always worried when a kid comes out here for the first time, but he was actually better than he’s been in practice.”

Schuelke’s arm slots a marvel for fans and hitters alike

When Schuelke was younger, his natural throw was sidearm. His parents worked with him throwing overhanded and then his dad worked with him on different throwing motions to allow some versatility.

Over time, Schuelke developed an arsenal at each arm slot that would have hitters second guessing every pitch. Starting overhanded, Schuelke throws two fastballs, a slider, changeup and a curveball, dropping down to just below ¾, he has a slider to go along with a fastball. As a submarine, Schuelke is throwing fastballs and curveballs and with none of those arm slots is he throwing above 92 mph.

Still, the talented hurler has made a career out of baffling hitters at every turn and he has been as durable as it gets.

After walking on at Florida Gulf Coast and transferring, Schuelke played in 19 games as a redshirt at Northwood University where he was 4-4 with a 4.98 ERA in 60.0 innings and had three saves. He transferred again last year to the College of Central Florida where he led the Patriots to an incredible 56-7 record with a Division I National Championship in the NJCAA.

Schuelke pitched in 32 games, went 9-1 and had eight saves as he threw 60.0 innings, gave up just 14 earned runs on 34 hits and had 16 walks with 86 strikeouts. His work in the Cape Cod League had him earning All-Star honors as well.

Even after a dominant season last year, Schuelke has learned so much more in the few months he’s had under pitching coach Justin Parker.

“Super diligent on cleaning up mechanics. Working a lot of glove side, arm side and really working command,” Schuelke said. “Obviously, you can’t get guys out if you can’t throw strikes, so Parker has been a huge help in getting guys synced up and moving well down the mound.”

The entire pitching staff finished the first game with just two walks with both of those coming from starter Nate Dohm. One of the two walks was intentional from Dohm as the unit combined to throw an efficient 96 pitches for strikes out of the 120 pitches thrown.

Schuelke and the bullpen threw 46 strikes out of 54 pitches as Parker’s work is already making a mark. More performances from Schuelke and State could be in for a major jump on the mound.