Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoBorn and bred in Lawrence, Free State High senior Eric Peterson is fulfilling a lifelong dream to play baseball at Kansas University.
Peterson, the ace of the Firebirds’ pitching staff, signed a national letter of intent on Friday with the Jayhawks.
“Playing at home in front of my friends and family is a dream come true,” said Peterson, a left-handed hurler. “When KU called, my eyes lit up. I knew when they called that’s where I wanted to go.”
As a junior last spring, Peterson compiled a 3-5 record with a 5.44 earned run average for the Firebirds. He struck out 71 batters in 551/3 innings and tied a school record with 14 strikeouts in one game.
“He had a great spring for us,” Firebird baseball coach Mike Hill said. “The numbers don’t always show it. Numbers are deceiving sometimes in baseball.”
Peterson had impressive numbers in the summer while pitching for the American Legion Lawrence Raiders. He had a 14-1 record with 100 strikeouts and just 22 walks to help the Raiders clinch a state berth.
“The whole team was awesome and getting to state got me some exposure,” Peterson said.
Before being wooed by KU, Peterson received recruiting interest from NCAA Div. II schools and junior colleges in the state.
“There’s a certain amount of talent to get to this level,” Hill said. “You have to have a lot more than talent. There has to be a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices. He’s a guy you could count on to be there early and leave late. He’s willing to do more than you ask him to do.”
Peterson throws consistently in the 83-84 mph range.
“I’ve got to get better,” Peterson said. “I want to throw harder and keep the same location and take our team to state.”
Last season, Peterson was the winning pitcher in three of Free State’s five victories.
“At our level he’s a power pitcher,” Hill said. “In the Big 12 Conference, I don’t know if I’d describe him as a power pitcher. He can pitch people backward. He can throw the breaking ball early in the count and then throw the fast ball.”
Hill believes it will take Peterson a couple of years to crack KU’s rotation.
“Very rarely does a freshman figure in the mix real quick,” Hill said. “That’s not saying anything against Eric. That’s the nature of the beast at that level. He understands it could be a year or two before he fits into the picture.”
Peterson is Free State’s second Div. I signee in baseball. Matt Hicks, a 1999 FSHS graduate, signed with Arkansas State.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoBorn and bred in Lawrence, Free State High senior Eric Peterson is fulfilling a lifelong dream to play baseball at Kansas University.
Peterson, the ace of the Firebirds’ pitching staff, signed a national letter of intent on Friday with the Jayhawks.
“Playing at home in front of my friends and family is a dream come true,” said Peterson, a left-handed hurler. “When KU called, my eyes lit up. I knew when they called that’s where I wanted to go.”
As a junior last spring, Peterson compiled a 3-5 record with a 5.44 earned run average for the Firebirds. He struck out 71 batters in 551/3 innings and tied a school record with 14 strikeouts in one game.
“He had a great spring for us,” Firebird baseball coach Mike Hill said. “The numbers don’t always show it. Numbers are deceiving sometimes in baseball.”
Peterson had impressive numbers in the summer while pitching for the American Legion Lawrence Raiders. He had a 14-1 record with 100 strikeouts and just 22 walks to help the Raiders clinch a state berth.
“The whole team was awesome and getting to state got me some exposure,” Peterson said.
Before being wooed by KU, Peterson received recruiting interest from NCAA Div. II schools and junior colleges in the state.
“There’s a certain amount of talent to get to this level,” Hill said. “You have to have a lot more than talent. There has to be a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices. He’s a guy you could count on to be there early and leave late. He’s willing to do more than you ask him to do.”
Peterson throws consistently in the 83-84 mph range.
“I’ve got to get better,” Peterson said. “I want to throw harder and keep the same location and take our team to state.”
Last season, Peterson was the winning pitcher in three of Free State’s five victories.
“At our level he’s a power pitcher,” Hill said. “In the Big 12 Conference, I don’t know if I’d describe him as a power pitcher. He can pitch people backward. He can throw the breaking ball early in the count and then throw the fast ball.”
Hill believes it will take Peterson a couple of years to crack KU’s rotation.
“Very rarely does a freshman figure in the mix real quick,” Hill said. “That’s not saying anything against Eric. That’s the nature of the beast at that level. He understands it could be a year or two before he fits into the picture.”
Peterson is Free State’s second Div. I signee in baseball. Matt Hicks, a 1999 FSHS graduate, signed with Arkansas State.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoBorn and bred in Lawrence, Free State High senior Eric Peterson is fulfilling a lifelong dream to play baseball at Kansas University.
Peterson, the ace of the Firebirds’ pitching staff, signed a national letter of intent on Friday with the Jayhawks.
“Playing at home in front of my friends and family is a dream come true,” said Peterson, a left-handed hurler. “When KU called, my eyes lit up. I knew when they called that’s where I wanted to go.”
As a junior last spring, Peterson compiled a 3-5 record with a 5.44 earned run average for the Firebirds. He struck out 71 batters in 551/3 innings and tied a school record with 14 strikeouts in one game.
“He had a great spring for us,” Firebird baseball coach Mike Hill said. “The numbers don’t always show it. Numbers are deceiving sometimes in baseball.”
Peterson had impressive numbers in the summer while pitching for the American Legion Lawrence Raiders. He had a 14-1 record with 100 strikeouts and just 22 walks to help the Raiders clinch a state berth.
“The whole team was awesome and getting to state got me some exposure,” Peterson said.
Before being wooed by KU, Peterson received recruiting interest from NCAA Div. II schools and junior colleges in the state.
“There’s a certain amount of talent to get to this level,” Hill said. “You have to have a lot more than talent. There has to be a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices. He’s a guy you could count on to be there early and leave late. He’s willing to do more than you ask him to do.”
Peterson throws consistently in the 83-84 mph range.
“I’ve got to get better,” Peterson said. “I want to throw harder and keep the same location and take our team to state.”
Last season, Peterson was the winning pitcher in three of Free State’s five victories.
“At our level he’s a power pitcher,” Hill said. “In the Big 12 Conference, I don’t know if I’d describe him as a power pitcher. He can pitch people backward. He can throw the breaking ball early in the count and then throw the fast ball.”
Hill believes it will take Peterson a couple of years to crack KU’s rotation.
“Very rarely does a freshman figure in the mix real quick,” Hill said. “That’s not saying anything against Eric. That’s the nature of the beast at that level. He understands it could be a year or two before he fits into the picture.”
Peterson is Free State’s second Div. I signee in baseball. Matt Hicks, a 1999 FSHS graduate, signed with Arkansas State.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoBorn and bred in Lawrence, Free State High senior Eric Peterson is fulfilling a lifelong dream to play baseball at Kansas University.
Peterson, the ace of the Firebirds’ pitching staff, signed a national letter of intent on Friday with the Jayhawks.
“Playing at home in front of my friends and family is a dream come true,” said Peterson, a left-handed hurler. “When KU called, my eyes lit up. I knew when they called that’s where I wanted to go.”
As a junior last spring, Peterson compiled a 3-5 record with a 5.44 earned run average for the Firebirds. He struck out 71 batters in 551/3 innings and tied a school record with 14 strikeouts in one game.
“He had a great spring for us,” Firebird baseball coach Mike Hill said. “The numbers don’t always show it. Numbers are deceiving sometimes in baseball.”
Peterson had impressive numbers in the summer while pitching for the American Legion Lawrence Raiders. He had a 14-1 record with 100 strikeouts and just 22 walks to help the Raiders clinch a state berth.
“The whole team was awesome and getting to state got me some exposure,” Peterson said.
Before being wooed by KU, Peterson received recruiting interest from NCAA Div. II schools and junior colleges in the state.
“There’s a certain amount of talent to get to this level,” Hill said. “You have to have a lot more than talent. There has to be a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices. He’s a guy you could count on to be there early and leave late. He’s willing to do more than you ask him to do.”
Peterson throws consistently in the 83-84 mph range.
“I’ve got to get better,” Peterson said. “I want to throw harder and keep the same location and take our team to state.”
Last season, Peterson was the winning pitcher in three of Free State’s five victories.
“At our level he’s a power pitcher,” Hill said. “In the Big 12 Conference, I don’t know if I’d describe him as a power pitcher. He can pitch people backward. He can throw the breaking ball early in the count and then throw the fast ball.”
Hill believes it will take Peterson a couple of years to crack KU’s rotation.
“Very rarely does a freshman figure in the mix real quick,” Hill said. “That’s not saying anything against Eric. That’s the nature of the beast at that level. He understands it could be a year or two before he fits into the picture.”
Peterson is Free State’s second Div. I signee in baseball. Matt Hicks, a 1999 FSHS graduate, signed with Arkansas State.
