Peyton Lee wasn’t sure what his role was going to be on the 2012 New Hope High School baseball team.
Coming off a junior season that left him wanting more, Lee was focused on having an impact in his final season as a Trojan.
The senior right-hander is making those dreams a reality.
Lee pitched a complete-game three-hitter Friday to lead New Hope to a 6-1 victory against West Point. Not only did the victory help the Trojans take two of three from the Green Wave this season, it also helped them clinch the Class 5A, Region 2 regular-season title and a first-round bye in the North State playoffs.
For his accomplishment, Lee is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“This year I am hitting my spots and working all of my pitches in,” Lee said. “Last year, I didn’t really feel that good with my curveball. This year I am throwing it a lot more and I feel a lot better about it.
“Everybody has been backing me up and making good plays, and Tee Payne has been doing a good job catching.”
Lee walked one and struck out six in a 91-pitch outing. In a previous outing against West Point, Lee said he used his curveball effectively to set up batters to help the Trojans get the win. On Friday, he said coach Lee Boyd had him set batters up with his fastball and he followed those instructions, hitting his spots and then mixing his curveball and changeup to keep hitters off balance.
“He has done a great job of being a senior leader,” Boyd said. “He always does the right thing, shows up at the right time, and works hard in the weight room.”
Boyd said he entered the season feeling Lee would be a Saturday starter behind right-hander Landon Boyd, left-hander Taylor Stafford, and others. But he said Lee impressed in the preseason and had several good outings early in the season to help build his confidence. He said Lee struggled in his first region game but recovered and has battled back to deliver complete games in two of his past three starts.
“He has done a good job of keeping his off-speed stuff over the plate and keeping the ball down,” Boyd said. “He doesn’t have the most velocity in the world, but he is really excelled on the mound.”
Landon Boyd typically has started Tuesday games, followed by Lee in the region game of the week. Stafford has been the team’s primary reliever. Coming off a loss to Oxford on Tuesday, Lee said he and the Trojans knew the pressure would be on against West Point. But he didn’t look at the game any differently as any of his other starts and relied on Payne and his defense.
“I felt comfortable with my fastball and hit a bunch of spots,” Lee said.
Lee attributes his success to confidence. He credits Boyd for calling good games and Payne for his solid work. He feels his ability to hit his spots has given him the confidence to erase the memory of last season, which started with a struggle against Amory, and to be someone on the mound the Trojans can depend on.
Boyd sees the maturation and feels Lee has a new mind-set that is helping him.
“I think last year a lot of times Peyton in his some of his starts when he knew we needed to have some of innings I think he would try to save something in the first inning or two,” Boyd said. “This year, I think he realizes let’s get through the first and we’ll worry about the second when it gets here, we’ll get through the second and then worry about the third. Once he has gotten through four innings, he has settled in a little bit and he has found his rhythm.”
A win against Itawamba Agricultural High on Saturday improved New Hope’s record to 19-7. Lee said the Trojans feel they have the potential to go far in the postseason and intend not to let other teams outwork them. Lee has taken the same approach and wants to do his part to help the tradition-rich program add another state title sign to the outfield wall of fame.
“I just knew somebody had to step up because I really didn’t have that good of a year last year,” Lee said. “I just felt challenged and I wanted to meet that challenge and help this team get to where we want to get.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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