June 11, 2011

June 11, 2011

KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island's Stephen Peterson has signed with Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent and will report to the Brewers' rookie league team in Arizona.

"Like every kid who grows up playing baseball, I've dreamed about this my entire life," said Peterson. "I'm just really thankful for getting the opportunity to go out there and achieve my goals."

Peterson, who missed the 2009 (transfer) and 2010 (injury) seasons, wrapped up the year with a perfect 6-0 record in Atlantic 10 conference games. He tossed two complete-game shutouts and led Rhody's starters with a 3.06 ERA.

The Danvers, Mass. native also struck out a team-best 69 batters while holding opponents to a .231 batting average, en route to earning All-Conference and All-New England honors. At the annual NEIBA All-Star game, he was tabbed Pitcher of the Game after allowing just one hit over two shutout innings.

"I couldn't be happier for Stephen," said head coach Jim Foster. "He proved to be an integral part of our weekend rotation this year and is very deserving of this opportunity."

Peterson is the seventh Rhode Island baseball player to sign with an MLB team under Foster's guidance. Last year, Tim Boyce was selected by the Seattle Mariners following a 2009 season where Eric Smith (Arizona), Nick Greenwood (San Diego), Dan Rhault (Tampa Bay) and Luke Demko (San Francisco) were all taken in the Draft. Zach Zaneski signed with the Texas Rangers in 2008 while the New York Mets selected Steve Holmes in 2006.