Peterson Arrives Late, Delivers
by Bob Keisser, Long Beach Press-Telegram
April 21, 2006 It's a statement on the condition of Long Beach State's hitting woes that one of their better bats in 2006 arrived in town as a pitcher.
In the wake of injuries and a lack of punch in the lineup, freshman Shane Peterson, a two-way player at Chaparral High School in Temecula, has hit his way into the lineup either at designated hitter or in left-field, and he responded by becoming the most consistent force next to preseason All-American third-baseman Evan Longoria.
He's cooled some since getting off to a .435 average before Big West play began, but he remains the best protection in a slumping lineup behind Longoria. He's hitting .344 with a home run, nine RBI, a .432 on-base percentage, .469 slugging percentage and six multi-hit games.
Peterson's shuffle to the lineup isn't the first time he's found himself moving from the mound to the field and back. His pitching skills developed in the last few years of his young career.
``I didn't pitch much in little league or youth ball,'' he said before heading north for Long Beach's (16-18-1) three-game series at UC Davis (13-19) beginning today. ``I didn't pitch until my sophomore year of high school, and mostly because I was left-handed and could throw strikes.''
Peterson was hurt in his junior season and didn't pitch much. He broke through as a two-way player as a senior. He struck out 90 batters in 67-plus innings in a 5-4, 2.29 ERA season while hitting .414 with seven home runs.
Dirtbags pitching coach Troy Buckley loved Peterson's potential as a pitcher. Peterson never had a pitching coach -- ``I just threw,'' he said – so the chance to come to Long Beach and learn under one of the best was an opportunity he wanted to take.
``When I was being recruited, schools always talked about me doing both, but Troy was the one coach who was most interested in my pitching,'' Peterson said. ``I think I've improved a lot since I got here – the quickness in my arm, throwing harder, pitching better to left-handers. I'm still a work in progress but I'm getting better.''
Peterson has pitched in seven games with one start and seven strikeouts in nine-plus innings. His ERA is 7.71, but that's mostly because of one bad inning against Fullerton in a mop-up appearance.
During fall drills, he took batting practice but never spent a minute in the field, and he played first base more often than outfield in high school, so the transition to the outfield has been difficult. But he's made enough of an impression on the coaches to become part of the strong nucleus of freshmen in the team.
In a perfect world, he could become a college player along the lines of former Dodger pitcher Darren Driefort, who was an All-American pitcher and hitter at Wichita State, or Jason Vargas, the former Long Beach State standout who was the Sunday starter two years ago and the DH in other games.
``I've learned quite a bit about (Vargas) since I got here,'' he said. ``That's where I'd like to eventually get.''
|
