PORT ANGELES — The Lefties’ Colby Scheuber took the West Coast League by storm last season.
And this year, he’s back for more, proving yet again that he belongs with the big boys from UCLA, USC and Oregon State.
Scheuber is one of 14 returning players for the Lefties this season. He had a fantastic year for Port Angeles last season.
He had an unspectacular start to his Lefties’ tenure in 2023. He was a midseason addition and in his first game for the Lefties on June 24 against Kelowna, he gave up three runs and five innings, allowing nine hits.
But after that, he was simply lights out through July and August, quietly accumulating some dominant numbers. Scheuber allowed two runs in two starts, one run in two other starts and threw two shutouts, though neither were complete games.
After June 24, his ERA was an excellent 1.88 in 43 innings of work. He had two three-hitters and a one-hitter in that stretch.
Scheuber ended the season with an ERA of 2.16 in 50 innings, third-best in the West Coast League. If not for that first game, he would have likely led the WCL in ERA. He allowed just 40 hits in those 50 innings.
What makes his numbers even more impressive is Scheuber is a semi-local player who graduated from tiny Ocosta High School, average enrollment 124, a 2B division school smaller than Chimacum and Forks high schools. And he’s going up against college players who went to big city academies in Southern California while in high school and now attend Division 1A schools.
He’s not only going up against them, he’s excelling.
What Scheuber learned last year, coming from Ocosta, “is I definitely belong up here. [Last year] I knew I could compete and this year I’m coming back to prove it.
“I’ve always thought of myself as an underdog,” Scheuber said. “I’m always trying to beat the other guys and show them that I’m as good if not better than they are.”
Scheuber played briefly for the Bend Elks in 2022. He came back to Port Angeles this year because he enjoyed his Lefties’ experience in 2023 and loves his host family — John Ahlers and Gina Sesto.
“About 10 to 15 of us returned this year. We all bonded and really like each other. This is a good place to set roots,” he said. “I enjoy being with a bunch of guys who want to get better.”
Lefties pitching coach Tanner Knapp called Scheuber both “ultra-competitive” and “the salty veteran of the group.
“He’s been around and understands what it takes to compete” at the West Coast League level, Knapp said.
Scheuber had a similar start this season to last. He had a rough opening game, giving up five earned runs in one inning against Wenatchee, a first-place team that is beating up most of the pitchers who go up against it. He bounced back with a strong performance against powerhouse Corvallis, going five innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits. That was against a lineup loaded with Div. 1A players and MLB draft picks.
After graduating from Ocosta, Scheuber played a year for Grays Harbor Community College in Aberdeen. He then moved clear across the country to play for Salem International University in West Virginia this spring, but is now in the transfer portal, wanting to return to a four-year school on the West Coast.
“I’m looking to be closer to home,” he said.
For now, that home is Port Angeles.
