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06/28/2018 12:00 AMPeyton Farina served as one of the North Haven baseball team’s senior captains this year and helped the Indians continue their winning tradition by leading them to another in a long line of successful seasons. Peyton made the move to the outfield between his freshman and sophomore years and then turned in back-to-back All-Quinnipiac Division and All-State campaigns to close out his high-school career.
As a junior last year, Peyton posted a .412 batting average, while helping North Haven advance to the Class L State Tournament final. This spring, Peyton had another great campaign in which he batted .314 with a .472 on-base percentage to go with 22 walks and 24 runs scored. On top of repeating his All-SCC and All-State honors from last year, Peyton was a New Haven Register All-Area selection who was also chosen to play in the Senior Select All-Star Game on behalf of the Indians, who won 19 games and made the Class L quarterfinals.
“It’s fun knowing every time you go out, you have a chance to win. I’m proud to be a part of this team with a great group of guys,” says Peyton. “My freshman year, we had a chance to watch them win [the Class L state title]. Junior year, we got close, and we put in another run this year. It’s just exciting to see everyone in the town come together. It’s just fun to be a part of.”
Peyton played shortstop as a freshman, before moving to center field when he joined North Haven’s varsity squad in his sophomore year. Peyton worked on transitioning to the outfield throughout the summer and fall and became an excellent center fielder for Head Coach Bob DeMayo’s squad.
“It was kind of an interesting situation where we needed a good defensive outfielder and we gave him some work out there. He certainly showed us right away that he was the best defensive outfielder we had,” Coach DeMayo says. “It wasn’t too difficult to jump for him. In fact, I think outfield may be his natural position anyway.”
As he was tracking down the fly balls, Peyton also produced at the plate while hitting in the middle of the Indians’ lineup. Peyton batted fifth during his sophomore season and then moved up to the No. 3 spot in the order for his junior and senior years.
“Moving to third made me more confident, because it means Coach DeMayo had a lot of trust in me. I really found a home and I felt that being in the center of the lineup was nice,” says Peyton, who also plays for North Haven’s Senior American Legion baseball team. “I’m not a big home-run hitter. I hit the ball hard and try to find gaps. I hate striking out more than anything, so I fight pitchers, attack early, and make sure not to strike out. I just want to make something happen.”
Peyton actually started off the 2018 season in a bit of slump. He didn’t want to begin the year that way, especially since he was a senior captain, but Peyton kept a level head and knew that his teammates were behind him every step of the way. Eventually, he dug his way out.
“I started the year 0-for-12 and didn’t get a hit until our fifth game. The guys were making jokes. It was funny,” says Peyton. “We had a great group. As captain, I focused on picking guys up.”
The power game wasn’t a big part of Peyton’s approach in the batter’s box. Instead, he emphasized using his speed to get aboard any way he could in order to wreak havoc on the base paths and increase the Indians’ chances of scoring runs.
“I stole 13 bases this year. I really worked on that and tried to get good jumps,” he says. “I knew if I could bring that into my game, it could help us win.”
With Peyton’s high-school baseball career in the books, he plans to continue playing the sport at the next level. Next spring, Peyton will join the baseball team at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts.
“I got looked at by a couple of schools and then I just decided it was the best fit for me,” says Peyton. “The campus, the coach, I decided to go there. They’ve had a good last few seasons, and I like winning, so it seemed like a good fit for me.”