Pederson instrumental for Mesa

Being too emotional can sometimes be a problem for Nick Pederson.

Last week, Pederson said he was on cloud nine, having led Costa Mesa High to its first baseball league championship since 1978. He threw a complete game and belted a grand slam, allowing the Mustangs to clinch the Orange Coast League title outright with a 9-2 victory against Laguna Beach.

This week, Pederson won’t feel as good. But it’s understandable.

The senior played his final baseball game for the Mustangs Thursday. Costa Mesa bowed out to visiting Palm Springs, 4-2, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.

“[Baseball is] why I came to school,” Pederson said.

Pederson graduated with high honors on the field. He entered the season as a reliever and turned into one of the Mustangs’ frontline pitchers.

Pederson finished with a 6-3 record, a 1.70 earned-run average, and struck out 45 batters in 49 1/3 innings, impressive numbers. Coach Jim Kiefer figured the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder would contribute in other ways.

“We expected him to provide some production in the middle of the lineup as a No. 4 hitter,” Kiefer said of Pederson, who went into Thursday batting .354 and leading the team with three home runs and 28 runs batted in. “I think the biggest surprise was his performance as a pitcher. We knew he’d pitch some, but we weren’t sure exactly how much.

“He was dealing with a shoulder injury prior to starting and it kind of set him back. But once he got going early in the year, he performed well and slid into a starting spot and kept it all year.”

The first start came on March 17 against Segerstrom. Even though it was a loss, his first, Pederson showed Kiefer something.

The Mustangs found their No. 2 starter to throw after ace Tyler Peterson. The two gave Costa Mesa a strong 1-2 punch and the Mustangs finished 20-7, 11-1 in league play.

Pederson never took the mound in the playoffs this year. He started at first base as Costa Mesa was eliminated for the third straight year in its opening-round game.

Compared to last year, Pederson said the mood around the team was better this year going into the playoffs.

Pederson hoped closing out league with a title would help after the team fell apart down the stretch last season and dropped its wild-card game to Norwalk John Glenn, 7-2, at home.

The Mustangs fought back against Palm Springs after trailing 4-0 in the first inning. Costa Mesa scored twice in the fourth, and began to play like the team which won a school record 20 games this season.

“Last year we got in that situation and it kind of got away from us,” Kiefer said of falling behind, 5-0, to John Glenn early on. “I thought [Thursday] we were able to rally and get ourselves back in the game and play hard for seven innings. That’s progress in my opinion.”

Kiefer has also seen Pederson mature on the field.

“[Checking his emotions is] one of the things he’s had to deal with because he’s very emotional,” Kiefer said. “Stay on an even keel is something he’s worked really hard on. For the most part, he’s done a pretty good job.

“There [have] been a couple of times he’s gotten worked up. He had the one Calvary [Chapel] game, where he had kind of a floating strike zone and had to deal with that, and it was an emotional situation. It was a learning experience. He really got caught up in that. I think after that, he realized … he needs to keep things in control.”