'It's a blessing to be at Field': Falcons fight back for Joe Peterson's 200th win

NORTON — Joe Peterson has built a consistent winner at Field based largely on fundamentals and pitching.

Throw strikes, field well and get runners home.

The Falcons struggled in all three areas at times Tuesday but showcased another trademark of Peterson teams to pick up his 200th career win.

Down 6-0 after two innings, Field baseball showed unlimited heart in its remarkable 9-8 win at Norton on Tuesday.

"He always has a fire in his stomach," Falcons catcher Ethan Rinehart said of Peterson. "Like he's ready to go at it."

Rinehart noted that Peterson preaches a next-pitch mentality. That came in handy in a game in which the Falcons left 15 runners on base, including four in the first two innings as they fell behind by six, and made multiple miscues in the field.

"We'll get up there [with a] next-pitch mentality," Rinehart said. "[It's] always 'next pitch, next pitch, next pitch,' and then it's just more of he starts it and then the whole group just comes together."

Asked about his 200th victory, Peterson took more of a next-question mentality, quickly turning to his players.

"I kind of want to deflect and just say that I'm super proud of those guys," Peterson said. "Being down 6-0 pretty much is about as rough [of] a start that we could have had for the first couple Innings and they clawed back and scratched back and never quit."

Ethan Rinehart leads remarkable rally for Field baseball

Rinehart was more than a good quote Tuesday.

He also was a comeback catalyst for the Falcons (5-0, 4-0 Metro Athletic Conference).

Down 6-2, Rinehart knocked home a pair of runs by sending a single skipping over the third-base bag in the top of the third. Rinehart drove in a third run with a hard-hit grounder that eluded the third baseman in the fourth.

The senior's biggest hit was still to come.

With the Panthers clinging to an 8-7 lead in the seventh, Sam Confer and Carter Little kept the Falcons alive by drawing a pair of two-out walks.

Rinehart didn't hesitate when he got his chance.

He swung at the first pitch he saw, getting his barrel on a low offering and sending a gap shot to the opposite field to bring home the tying run.

"He is night and day better when he's super aggressive and when he's aggressive early in the count," Peterson said. "We've been working on that."

The next batter, Landon Homan, sent a scorcher just past the diving shortstop to bring home the go-ahead run.

"It was really big," Homan said. "I walked up and played with a lot of confidence. I'm pretty sure I was 0-for-3 before that, but just it was a mentality — you got to go in there and put the ball in play."

Caden Kolesar stars in relief

The bottom of the seventh didn't come easy, but nothing could faze Caden Kolesar in his fifth inning of relief for visiting Field.

"He was absolutely awesome," Peterson said. "His fastball is not going to sneak by anybody, I mean he knows that, but he's a student of the game and his pitches were locating tremendously."

Nothing fazed the sophomore southpaw Tuesday.

Not having to enter the game in the third inning.

Not giving up a couple of runs in that third, as Kolesar bounced back to retire seven of the next eight and ended the afternoon with four scoreless innings.

"We lost the MAC by one game last year, and so this year, we're coming out hungry," Kolesar said. "We want to win it, so we're just going to do anything we can as a team to win games, no matter how bad we're down."

Double plays in the sixth and seventh helped Kolesar pitch around two baserunners in each inning.

"I know we have a great defense, we always have," Kolesar said. "So I'm going to do my thing, throw strikes. If they hit it, then hats off to them, but I'm going to trust my defense and they made plays today and that's all I can ask from them."

The fielding miscues, the walks, the runners left on base, that isn't like a Peterson team.

The fight?

That's exactly what people have come to expect out of Peterson's Falcons over the years.

Including in Peterson's 200th win.

"It's super cool," Peterson said. "I think back to all the great players and all the players that have played here and the good coaches and the wonderful support system I've had at home. Just it's a blessing. It's a blessing to be at Field."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Field High School baseball fights for Joe Peterson's 200th career win