Eric Peterson enters his fourth year as Drury’s pitching coach in 2018. In his three seasons with the Panthers, Drury has advanced to two NCAA-II tournaments, won a Great Lakes Valley Conference title and a GLVC division championship.
In 2017, Peterson helped Drury to a 37-20 record, a 19-9 mark in the GLVC and the league’s West Division crown. His pitching staff had the second-best earned run average in the league at 4.63 and produced three all-conference pitchers.
The ’17 squad also featured Ryan Colombo who won the Josh Willingham Award as the NCAA-II MVP in addition to being named the GLVC Player of the Year. Colombo was a two-way player that went 9-2 with a 2.62 ERA as a pitcher in addition to hitting .375 while seeing time at first base, second base, and shortstop. Colombo worked 106.2 innings recording 78 strikeouts, walking only 33 and surrendering just a .230 batting average against him.
In addition to Colombo, the Panthers also had Garrett Woods (8-3, 3.22 ERA), and Alex Austin (5-3, six saves, 3.99 ERA) named all-conference in 2017.
Peterson has had four pitchers named to the all-conference team in three years including two named as NCAA-II All-Region selections.
Two of his former Panthers are pitching professionally for Major League affiliated teams. Trevor Richards graduated from Drury in 2015 and signed with the Miami Marlins in the 2016 season. In 2017, Richards was the Minor League Pitcher of the Year in the Marlins organization splitting time between the Class A and Double-A level.
Sterling Sharp was a 22nd round pick of the Washington Nationals in 2016 and completed his second professional season in 2017 finishing in the Class A Carolina League.
Peterson came to Drury after serving as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan. He has had previous coaching stops at Pittsburg State, Fort Scott CC, Niagara University and Kansas.
He also served as an assistant for the Topeka Golden Giants of the MINK League and the Edenton Steamers of the Coastal Plains League. He was the head coach of the Chillicothe Mudcats of the MINK League, and in 2012, the squad set team records for wins and staff ERA.
Peterson, a former left-handed pitcher, is a graduate of Pittsburg State, where he finished his playing career after starting one season at Kansas.
