By Clara Richards | Washington University in St. Louis

Cam Schuelke, Cotuit Kettleers at Wareham Gatemen, July 13, 2022 in Wareham, Ma. (Photo by Alysa Rubin)
In early June, Cam Schuelke walked into Putter’s Paradise, past the white whale fountain that marked the entrance, and redeemed his golf round for one. The circumstances of him being there in the first place were pure luck (and some minigolf skills, too); Schuelke had won a free round from a team-sponsored event when he was training with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. He had sunk a lucky hole-in-one on the eighteenth hole, granting him a free card. But shortly after his first visit, Hyannis told him that they didn’t have a spot for him on their roster. So before making the arduous fifteen hour drive home — made even worse because he never got on the bump for the Harbor Hawks — Schuelke decided to redeem his voucher, alone.
“I was so bored that I went to play by myself,” he said. “It was a walk-of-shame type beat.”
But after starting the first hole, a father-son duo saw him golfing alone and invited them to join their group. They played a competitive eighteen holes, complete with a tiebreaker at the end. Schuelke emerged with the win though, and he drove away from Putter’s Paradise fully believing that he’d never see his minigolf partners again.
A few weeks later, Schuelke arrived in Cotuit, having been offered a temporary contract. Standing in front of baseball ops was his minigolf partner, Peter Flaherty Jr. Unbeknownst to him, he had been playing with the father of the Ketts’ scouting director. Peter Flaherty III had learned about the pitcher’s departure from his dad, and he kept Schuelke in the back of his mind as the season progressed and the roster shifted around. “The second we had an open slot, I knew who I was going to call,” the younger Flaherty said. “And he’s going to close out a championship game for us.”
Since being here, Schuelke had been a workhorse for the bullpen. He walked into his first outing and secured the save for the Ketts at Wareham. He proceeded to pitch the next four days, throwing 113 pitches, 74 of them for strikes, without a day off.
The subbie’s arm slot allows him to hurl day after day. At 10 years old, he learned from his dad to throw

Cam Schuelke pitches in his unique sidearm motion. (Photo by Alysa Rubin)