Getting better all the time
Joe Boyle has a big fastball, but he’s almost apologetic about it. The Notre Dame junior righthander believes he topped out at 102 mph two summers ago in the Northwoods League, according to his teammates with the Kalamazoo Growlers, but said he isn’t sure what his maximum velocity was last summer in the Cape Cod League.
“I just see three digits and I’m pretty happy about that,” Boyle said. Chuck Ristano, in his 10th season as Fighting Irish pitching coach, considers the 6-foot-7, 240-pound reliever a seeker, someone who is constantly looking to improve his understanding of his own arsenal and pitching in general. But there are times when he’d like to see Boyle be more direct in his mound approach.
“Having the combination of that physical
