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PENSACOLA — Sidearm-slinging Carl Scheafer is about to finish his first season with the Pensacola Pelicans with the American Association, an independent minor league.
“I was in college the past four years, and they picked me up in the middle of June,” Scheafer said in a recent telephone interview.
Scheafer, a 2002 Buena High School graduate, pitched a game for the Bisbee Kings of the Baseball Border Series, picking up the win.
 Carl Scheafer chats it up with Post 52 teammate Frank Winborn in this July 16, 2003 file photo. Scheafer is currently pitching for the Pensacola Pelicans of the American Association. (By Mark Levy-Herald/Review) |
Signed on June 28 for $750 per month and now playing for Pensacola in northwest Florida, 58 miles east of Mobile, Ala., Scheafer is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound middle relief pitcher after he was a temporary starter. The Pelicans’ season ends on Aug. 26.
“It’s a yearly contract,” Scheafer said. “They can ask you back to spring training. I would love to do that.”
Scheafer started two games, after closer Clint Sodowsky’s professional contract was sold to the Atlanta Braves and another pitcher, Rusty Begnaud suffered a career-ending injury after he dove into a pool.
“They bring me in when the game’s close,” Scheafer said. “They bring me in to throw one or two innings when we’re ahead by one run, down by one or so.”
The starts were a rough lesson in how fast better hitters adjust.
“They adjust so quickly,” Scheafer said. “In college, I can face the team the next day and they’d be clueless. Here, they adjust so quickly.”
Case in point: On July 7 at El Paso, the 23-year-old allowed one earned run over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-3 win. Five days later, the right-hander struggled as he allowed seven runs on nine hits and five walks as Pensacola scored five runs in the ninth but lost at El Paso, 10-9.
As of Friday, Scheafer sported a 2-2 record, with a 3.38 earned-run average, eight strikeouts, 27 hits allowed and 14 walks over 24 innings. Take away that bad outing and the former Colt has allowed only two earned runs.
“It was the concentration factor,” Scheafer said. “I really have to focus. When you miss a spot, you reallly miss a spot. I’m actually more comfortable being a reliever. I’m used to coming in with runners and closing the game.”
Overall, Scheafer has had fun with the Pelicans.
“We’ve been traveling a lot,” Scheafer said. “St. Paul (Minn.) is beautiful. Corpus Christi and El Paso are pretty nice. We’ve traveled by bus, that’s the only downside. Sometimes we’ll go to the beach near the Atlantic Ocean, then hit the field ... it’s better than work.”
Scheafer and the Pelicans play for Kash Beauchamp, the son of former Atlanta Braves bench coach Jim Beauchamp, who was there for the 1995 World Series.
The reliever is on target to graduate from Benedictine College with a degree in criminal justice. The Ravens, an NAIA team from Atchinson, Kan., had the benefit of having Scheafer as a closer. Scheafer is second all-time in career saves with 18.
He played in the region championship all four years. Benedictine won the championship in 2005.
“We were quite competitive,” Scheafer said. “We played the best Division II team in the country, Central Missouri State. It wasn’t even close, we beat them like 13-5. It opened me up to a great bunch of guys. There were a lot of guys from Puerto Rico. There were a few from Arizona. Only two came from the Midwest.”
Scheafer went to Benedictine College because Buena baseball head coach Bill Wright referred him to play there.
“We were the first class in team history that went to the region championship every year. We were only two wins away from the World Series.”
Wiillie wrote on Mar 2, 2009 7:42 PM: