Prep athletes of the week: Lakeville North pitcher dominates with 20-strikeout performance

When he took the mound against Apple Valley last week, the senior lefthander felt good. He had no idea, however, just how good he would be.

Peterson was the epitome of dominant. He hurled a two-hitter, one of which was a fourth-inning bunt single. He didn't walk a batter and struck out 20 of 21 hitters. Only three batters put the ball in play: Two for singles, one with a ground out. He was so dialed in that not a single hitter reached a three-ball count.

"The ball was coming out of my hand really well," Peterson said. "My connection with [catcher Nick] Juaire was the biggest thing. He knew exactly what I wanted to throw."

The Oklahoma State signee has a fastball that reaches the low 90s, but the key to last Monday's success, he said, was a willingness to throw other pitches early in the count.

"Instead of just trying to blow it by them, I relied on my curve and off-speed stuff instead of a first-pitch fastball," he said. "Anything to keep them off-balance."

He affirmed that it was probably his finest pitching performance. "It's got to be right up there at the top," he said.

The senior attacker continued her amazing May scoring streak with 16 goals in three games — five each in losses to Chanhassen and Farmington, and six in a victory over Roseville — to move into the state goal-scoring lead with 66.

The sophomore swept the shot put and discus throws at the Wright County Conference, East Division, meet. She set school and meet records in the discus with a distance of 129 feet, 8 inches, and tied her own shot put record with a throw of 38-2.

The sophomore third baseman's bat propelled the Titans to four victories in five games last week. He hit .615 (8-for-13) with three doubles, a triple, a home run, four runs scored and seven RBI. After a slow start, Tartan has won 10 of its past 13 games.

Nearly every time the senior came to bat last week, he reached base. Johnson went 9-for-13 and added four walks, giving him a .765 on-base percentage. He had six doubles, a triple, 11 RBI and even pitched a complete game victory over Legacy Christian.

The senior led the Governors to a sweep of state titles. They won their fourth consecutive team title Tuesday, and Yang won the singles title Thursday, beating St. Paul Harding's Jumy Miko 21-15, 21-13. Johnson also took the doubles crown.