LA CROSSE — Eddie Peters had taken countless at-bats at Copeland Park before he stepped into the batter’s box as a La Crosse Logger for the first time on June 3.
A called strike was followed by two pitches that missed the strike zone and then came the swing.
Peters tagged the pitch like he’d done to so many during his four-year career at Aquinas High School, and it resulted on his first home-run trot in the Northwoods League as the baseball sailed over the wall in center field.
The infielder couldn’t have asked for a better debut, but he has followed that up with a performance that is keeping him in the lineup for the team that leads the Great Plains East Division with a 21-8 record heading into Tuesday night’s home game against the Eau Claire Express (11-17).
“What a great way for him to start,” Loggers field manager Josh Frye said before Tuesday’s batting practice. “It’s awesome to have Eddie here as someone who can play anywhere on the field.
“He’s a good dugout guy and a good presence, too, and he’s here every day to work hard.”
Peters, who was the Blugolds’ starting shortstop for four seasons and finished his Aquinas career by helping it win a WIAA Division 3 state championship, spent the spring as an infielder — primarily a shortstop — for Division I Xavier University (Ohio).
Peters started 19 games and played in 29 for the Musketeers (32-27) and had a .173 batting average with 1 home run, 6 runs batted in and 5 doubles.
He’d like to increase that production upon returning to Xavier, so he was excited to get the chance to work with the Loggers, who had watched plenty of times while growing up in the Coulee Region.
“Summer ball in the (Northwoods League) is about development,” said Peters, who has played second base, shortstop and third base for La Crosse. “It’s great to meet new guys who have new techniques from their schools, and it’s a way for us to build experience for our college teams.”
Peters has certainly caught on to what it takes to succeed in the Northwoods League.
Through 14 games, Peters has batted .326 with 1 double, 1 home run and 9 RBIS to go with 3 stolen bases. He’s also made just 2 errors over 42 chances for a .952 fielding percentage.
“He’s pretty much been able to play Gold Glove for us at third base, shortstop, second base, wherever we put him,” Frye said. “On top of that, he’s batting over .300. He’s played 9 of the last 10 days for us and doesn’t even look like he’s breaking a sweat.”
Peters has at least 1 hit over his past 6 games and is 9 for 16 with 6 RBIs during that stretch. He drove in 2 runs in one game against Eau Claire and another against Rochester and was 3 for 4 in a game against Thunder Bay.
All signs point to Peters expanding on those accomplishments, but it all started with the home un in his first at-bat of the season.
“That was an awesome experience,” he said of the home-run blast against the Express three weeks ago. “I’ve been going to (Loggers) games since I was younger, so it was a really special moment to have a first at-bat like that.”
