Carson City history made Friday night in Oklahoma City
History was made Friday night for Carson City, Nevada in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — Yes, you read that right — For the first time ever, two Western Nevada College Baseball alum took the field in the same game at the professional level.
Tim Peterson (2011 WNC graduate) who recently signed with the Los Angeles Angels organization, was on the mound for the Salt Lake Bees as DJ Peters (2016 WNC graduate) who was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, was in the batter's box for the Oklahoma City Dodgers.
The 9th inning showdown at the AAA level between the two former Wildcats was a first, and ended with Peters drawing a base on balls in a save situation for Peterson. Just like that, history was made. Two former WNC Wildcats, a program from Carson City, Nevada, coming together during a professional baseball game. Peterson would come out on top at the end and record his fourth save since being with the Bees, beating the OKC Dodgers 2-1 on Friday night.
The two former Wildcats also represent two-thirds of the players from WNC who have made splashes in the majors. Both have high probability to be back in the show later this season with their respective clubs.
The Angels are in desperate need with pitching and Peterson can certainly help with that and has been good with Salt Lake since signing. Peterson made his major league debut with the New York Mets back in 2018. Peterson’s MLB career numbers on the hill stands at: 28 appearances, a 2-2 record, while having 28 strikeouts through 35 innings pitched.
On the other side of I-5, the Dodgers were encouraged with what they saw from Peters who had a good showing with his major league debut earlier this year with LA. Currently, Peters has a .192 BA with a home run, 2 doubles, 4 RBI while drawing 8 walks through just the 34 plate appearances with the Dodgers so far in 2021. Peters also possesses good defense with range in the outfield.
WNC Baseball, a national powerhouse program, which was led by DJ Whittemore, continues to show well at the professional level in 2021.