Perfectionist at the plate and in the field
Keith Peterson’s art supplies consist of his bat and glove
Like an artist, Keith Peterson strives for perfection.
He currently leads the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team in hitting (.406) and triples (5), and is second in hits (43) and slugging percentage (.670).
Yet, Peterson, a senior outfielder on this year’s Warrior team, is of the opinion he can still do much better every time he steps to the plate.
“I still think there’s plenty of room for improvement,” said Peterson, who last year played in the shadow of another Peterson, first-team All-American Allan Peterson. “I always feel I can do better.”
Peterson, a tri-captain on this year’s LCSC team, hit .341 last season and slammed seven homers, two of which came in the pivotal final two games of the Warriors’ march to the ’84 NAIA World Series championship.
Unlike last year, the 22- year-old Peterson is now playing fulltime. And the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder is making the most of it on defense, patrolling center field in the outstanding manner that his predecessors — players like Bob Maurer, Al Lopriore and Fred Quintero — did.
As far as LCSC Coach Ed Cheff is concerned, Peterson’s improved play on defense is a lot more than he bargained for.
“We always knew Keith could hit, but now he’s given us a bonus with his arm and his fielding,” said Cheff. “He has developed into as good a center fielder as there is around.”
Peterson, who wears No. 21, says he’s never doubted his fielding ability but admits that last year he put too much pressure on himself at the plate.
“‘Whenever something went wrong, I would press too much. But, heck, this is my final year, and I figure I should relax and enjoy it,” he said. “I changed my batting stance some and laid the barrel of my bat back. And I feel real comfortable.”
That’s more than can be said for opposing pitchers, who have felt anything but comfortable when they’ve tried to slip a fastball by Peterson.
“I’ll take a fastball any day,” he said.
On Saturday against Eastern Oregon State, he got one, clouting it out of the park for his fourth roundtripper of the year for the 28-13 Warriors.
Cheff says that Peterson plays hard all the time, whether his team is ahead or behind by 10 runs.
“Keith takes a lot of pride in his performance,” Cheff said. “And for us, he is the one guy probably as mentally ready to play every day as anyone on the club. He’s a very consistent player in terms of mental alertness.”
Peterson, a native of Bellevue, spent his first two years of college at Edmonds Community College where he hit in the high .300s and took part in two Junior Banana Belt Tournaments at Lewiston’s Harris Field in 1982 and 1983.
“Little did I think that I’d wind up playing my final two years of college ball on the same field, though,” Peterson said. “But I was given a full ride to play at LC, and it turned out to be the best possible thing for me. I like the small-school atmosphere here, and I’m getting good coaching.”
In fact, Peterson says he’s been taught the finer points of the game by two of the best, Cheff and Edmonds’ Coach Fred Shull.
“Shull was also a hard-nosed type of dude, but I was brought up to do what the coach says,” Peterson reasoned. “If I’m out there, why shouldn’t I bust my tail?”
Peterson says his role is “to make things happen,” but so far LCSC hasn’t been making things happen as effectively and fast as in the previous two seasons, he said.
“The potential is there for us to win another national title, but our hitting hasn’t been consistent and our pitching has been up and down,” Peterson said. “We also have excellent depth. I think that once we get everyone going, we can go all the way.”
In playing in Allan Peterson’s shadow last year, Keith said there were LCSC fans who got the two of them confused at times. “Some would say they read my name in the paper, but it usually wasn’t me that they were talking about.”
A management technology major, Peterson hopes to someday get in the sales end of the computer business. But that’s only if he fails to make it in the major leagues. So far, a scout from the Minnesota Twins has shown some interest in his all-around abilities.
Tonight, Peterson and his mates will take on their immediate nemesis to the north, the Washington State Cougars, in a 6 p.m. single game at Harris Field. “He says simply that “this is a very good time to get things together.”
This story was published in the April 16, 1985, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.
