Baseball has its way of handing out lessons in humility.

Northwest Indiana Oilmen infielder Malik Peters wasn’t immune after graduating from Mount Carmel in 2018 and spending his freshman season at Northern Illinois University.

“It was one of the biggest learning experiences I’ve had,” Peters said. “I had my ups and downs. But I took a lot away from my freshman year that’s going to fuel my sophomore campaign.”

And Peters is adding to that fuel with a red-hot start to the Midwest Collegiate League season.

Near the midpoint of the Oilmen schedule, Peters is third on the team with a .327 batting average and leads the team with 11 stolen bases. In 22 games at NIU, Peters hit .160 and only stole one base. He wasn’t discouraged by that freshman season, though, pointing to the massive leap in competition from high school to Division I.

“Pitchers are able to locate pitches whenever they want,” he said. “Not just certain pitches in certain counts. The game is a little bit faster too.”

Oilmen manager Kevin Tyrrell said Peters’ confidence has returned since he joined the Oilmen.

“His talent has always been there. That’s why he was a Division I guy,” Tyrrell said of Peters.

“When you’re a true freshman, you’re going up against juniors and seniors who have three years of experience over you. Now that he’s playing with guys his own age that he knows he belongs with, he’s not thinking about anything other than playing the game.”

Peters has been a fixture atop the Oilmen lineup along with Andrean product Clay Thompson, who’s hitting .333 and is right behind Peters with nine stolen bases. That speedy 1-2 punch leading off the NWI order has been crucial in building early leads, according to Tyrrell.

“With those guys at the top of the order, we’ve been scoring a lot of runs in the first inning,” Tyrrell said. “That’s huge for momentum. When you’re trying to come back in a wooden bat league, it feels like there’s more pressure.”

Peters is feeling his own pressure too. Although he said he’s pleased with his performance thus far, he’s not content.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve achieved my goal, because I still see some things I need to work on,” he said. “I still need to get better. I’m working on being more focused, not chasing any pitchers’ pitches and then not missing my pitch when I get it.”

But Peters said he is enjoying his summer back home, playing just across the state border from his hometown of Calumet City. Still, his mind has traveled out to DeKalb at times, wondering what’s in store for his sophomore season at NIU.

“I’m doing better than I did in college,” Peters said. “So, I need to continue working and hopefully it’ll translate to the next college season.”