Penn Hills senior relies on simple, effective approach on mound, at plate

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, April 23, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Penn Hills senior pitcher/first baseman Kenny Boyle has a simple pitching philosophy. He’s a one-two-three guy: He throws a fastball, curveball and slider.

When Boyle, who is committed to play at Penn State New Kensington, is on the field, he tries to pitch to contact.

“It’s all about not walking people,” Boyle said. “When it comes to high school baseball, walks are what kills teams. When you pitch to contact, you are taking the worry away from walking people.”

Boyle, along with fellow Penn Hills senior Sean Walker, will play at Penn State New Kensington next season. He has been a bright spot in a tough season at the plate for the Indians. Boyle leads the team with a .478 batting average with two doubles.

Penn Hills is 1-8 overall and 0-8 in section following a pair of losses to Plum last week. Boyle said the Indians have had a hard time against some of the top pitching they’ve seen in the section.

“We’re definitely off to a rough start, but we want to play up the competition,” Boyle said. “The other schools have a lot of talented pitchers this year. It’s not that we don’t have talented pitchers. We just don’t have the numbers other schools have.”

The Indians’ lone win came in a 12-2 home victory over Woodland Hills on April 14.

“That game Ed Bowser pitched well on the mound,” Indians coach Rodney Stubbs said. “Kenny Boyle, Connor Lehman and Sean Walker hit well. Those guys have been producing for us all year.”

Boyle, who plans to play in the infield and pitch some in college, feels that his batting has been sharp. The past few summers, Boyle has played for the 16U and 18U teams for the Rawlings Tigers, a travel team made up of kids from across the Pittsburgh area.

“My approach has been good,” Boyle said. “I want to be confident and drive the ball. I’m able to do that with repetition and having consistent practices. I want to do the little things well.”

When Boyle pitches, he said he is comfortable attacking the strike zone. With pitching to contact, Boyle has a belief the defense will play well behind him.

Boyle is looking forward to playing at Penn State New Kensington next season. He was drawn to the school because there are two other Penn Hills alumni, Max Oliveri and A.J. Collins, who he knew played for the program.

“They have a special group for the class of 2027 and I wanted to be a part of that,” Boyle said.

Tags: Penn Hills