Deerfield’s Danny Farrar goes out on a high note

Deerfield senior Danny Farrar wanted his last season of high school baseball to be successful.

“I worked hard going into my junior year, but it didn’t compare to the way I worked for this season,” he said. “I put in the work, and I’m happy with the outcome.”

Farrar contributed on the mound, at the plate and in center field for the Warriors (18-17). Deerfield was 9-6 in CSL action.

Farrar, a left-handed pitcher, was 2-1 with a 1.90 ERA. He struck out 32 batters in 24 innings. Farrar did not pitch in the month of May after experiencing tightness in his throwing arm. Next year, he will throw for DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. After a month of rest, Farrar said his arm is 100 percent and he plans to pitch a full schedule this summer.

Farrar sits at about 85-86 MPH and mixes in a curve and a cutter that runs in on right-handed hitters.

“He’s got incredible stuff and opponents spoke highly of him,” Deerfield coach Kevin Marsh said. “With two strikes especially, his cutter really baffled some hitters. He was really tough to hit.”

Marsh could tell early on that Farrar had put the work in to be a different pitcher as a senior.

“He dedicated himself to the weight room and was a stronger and more fit player. That had a huge impact on his velocity,” Marsh said. “I can’t speak highly enough about the job he did.”

Farrar also put together solid offensive numbers. He hit .337 from the No. 9 spot in the lineup.

“It seemed like he was always on,” senior cleanup hitter Nick Korompilas said. “Halfway through games when we would need a pick-up he would get on base and then the top of the order would start rolling.”

Farrar said that he enjoyed hitting ninth.

“I liked being a second leadoff man,” he said. “A lot of pitchers don’t have respect for the No. 9 hitter, so that gave me a chip on my shoulder.”

Added Marsh, “He came up with some big hits. He is a great athlete and he was [consistently] able to get on base.”

Next year, Farrar will join former Deerfield teammate Zack Wade at DePauw. Wade served as a backup catcher as a freshman. In the classroom, Farrar plans to study economics.

“I’m friends with Zack and he said his first year was really good,” Farrar said. “I decided to send a video of myself pitching to the DePauw coaches and they were really interested. This summer, I’m working every single day to improve [now] that I will be a college baseball player.”