“[Baseball is] why I came to school,” Pederson said.
Pederson graduated with high honors on the field. He entered the season as a reliever and turned into one of the Mustangs’ frontline pitchers.
Pederson finished with a 6-3 record, a 1.70 earned-run average, and struck out 45 batters in 49 1/3 innings, impressive numbers. Coach Jim Kiefer figured the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder would contribute in other ways.
“We expected him to provide some production in the middle of the lineup as a No. 4 hitter,” Kiefer said of Pederson, who went into Thursday batting .354 and leading the team with three home runs and 28 runs batted in. “I think the biggest surprise was his performance as a pitcher. We knew he’d pitch some, but we weren’t sure exactly how much.
“He was dealing with a shoulder injury prior to starting and it kind of set him back. But once he got going early in the year, he performed well and slid into a starting spot and kept it all year.”
The first start came on March 17 against Segerstrom. Even though it was a loss, his first, Pederson showed Kiefer something.
The Mustangs found their No. 2 starter to throw after ace Tyler Peterson. The two gave Costa Mesa a strong 1-2 punch and the Mustangs finished 20-7, 11-1 in league play.
Pederson never took the mound in the playoffs this year. He started at first base as Costa Mesa was eliminated for the third straight year in its opening-round game.
Compared to last year, Pederson said the mood around the team was better this year going into the playoffs.
Pederson hoped closing out league with a title would help after the team fell apart down the stretch last season and dropped its wild-card game to Norwalk John Glenn, 7-2, at home.
