Former Hornet Peterson suiting up at Central Florida

Peterson took his diamond talents from the halls of Enumclaw High first to Everett Community College and now to the UCF campus in Orlando, Fla.

Enumclaw native Bryce Peterson is continuing his baseball career at the Univer-sity of Central Florida.

The former Hornet took his diamond talents from the halls of Enumclaw High first to Everett Community College and now to the UCF campus in Orlando, Fla.

As of April 5, Peterson had started 17 of the Knights’ 23 games. He had posted a .237 batting average and .424 slugging percentage, with three home runs among his 14 hits. Once on base, he had stolen five bases in five attempts.

Peterson had a particularly good stretch in late February when he was named to the American Athletic Conference “Weekly Honor Roll,” which highlights baseball success. During a three-game sweep of Manhattan College, Peterson went 3-for-7, drove in five runs and posted an on-base percentage of .600. In the middle game of the series he drilled a grand slam, helping the Knights to a 10-1 victory over the Jaspers.

The American Athletic Conference consists of 12 institutions: the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, East Carolina University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, the U.S. Naval Academy (football only), the University of South Florida, Southern Methodist University, Temple University, Tulane University and the University of Tulsa.

Peterson – a 6-foot-4 outfielder – headed to Orlando after a stellar second season at Everett C.C. where he hit .348 with five home runs, 15 doubles, 36 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. With those impressive numbers on his resumé, Peterson was named Everett’s Athlete of the Year and also was listed on all-region and all-American teams by the American Baseball Coaches Association. That netted Peterson the opportunity to sign with UCF.

At Enumclaw High he was named to the all-state team following his senior season and was a three-time all-conference selection.