In 13 seasons as Columbia River’s head baseball coach, Stephen Donohue has seen a bevy of pitching talent come through the program.
An era that started in 2010 with Skye Adams and Christian Bannister was followed by the likes of Rian Bassett, Seth Rayburn, Taylor Easterly, Dakota Mason and Nick Nygard. Most recently, Nick Alder, Sawyer Parkin and Sam Boyle combined to give the Rapids an unprecedented three aces last season.
It’s a decorated group of pitchers who posted plenty of jaw-dropping numbers before some went on to play in college.
When all is said and done this spring, however, the season that stands out most could be Boyle’s. The senior University of Washington commit is in the midst of a two-month stretch his coach is raving about.
“The difference,” Donohue said, “is the dominance of what he’s doing.”
The left-handed pitcher boasts a 7-0 record with the Rapids (14-4, 12-2) contending for a league title in the final week of the 2A Greater St. Helens League season. In 41 innings pitched, Boyle has struck out 86 batters while giving up just three walks, four earned runs and 15 hits.
“It’s incredible,” senior catcher Adam Deeney said. “You go out there and you don’t even expect your fielders to touch the ball. Just working, him, me and the umpires.”
This season is somewhat of a transition for River after graduating 13 seniors from 2021, including Alder and Parkin, who are currently pitching at Linfield and Washington, respectively.
The Rapids rotation now features seniors Boyle and Casey Struckmeier, plus a handful of sophomores like Chris Parkin, Zach Zeibell and Noah Larson. In the process of becoming River’s top arm, watching Alder and Sawyer Parkin during past seasons left an impression on Boyle.
“It kind of made me want to get better,” Boyle said. “It was really fun because we knew every day we had the best pitcher on the mound and we could just beat any team, because we felt confident in all our guys. And just growing from them. They taught me to be more mature and be a better pitcher instead of just throwing the ball.”
When Boyle arrived in the Rapids’ varsity program as a freshman for the 2019 season, Donohue described him as a “traffic pitcher,” meaning he’d sometimes give up a hit or a walk then punch out the ensuing batters to get out of an inning.
That’s part of the reason why this season, among all the numbers he’s put up, the three walks in 41 innings is the one that jumps out most to Boyle, his coaches and catcher.
“I’ve usually been a big walk guy and this year … I’ve only had a handful of 3-2 counts or even 3-ball counts and I’ve just been trying to attack ahead and work ahead of people,” Boyle said. “It just helps me be more efficient too and gets me deeper into games.”
While his sophomore season in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic, Boyle pitched later in 2020 and the following year for Canes Baseball, a Virginia-based club, flying out to Florida for weeks at a time to play in tournaments against other Division I prospects.
Deeney, who calls all of River’s pitches on his own without interjection from coaches, has seen Boyle’s progression from then to now.
“He’s dialed in his control from years past, he’s got wicked movement on his fastball and every other pitch,” the catcher said. “Hard fastball, good velo and secondary stuff to reel it all together.”
In River’s last full varsity season, Boyle’s freshman year, the Rapids reached the Class 2A state quarterfinals before coming up short against Sehome.
That round of regionals has been the team’s biggest challenge, with a season-ending loss in five of the last eight full seasons.
As always, the Rapids know their ability to make a run will be tied to pitching. They’re in good hands with a rotation led by Struckmeier and Boyle, who has the swagger of a number one pitcher and a spirit that keeps the atmosphere light, his head coach says.
“He definitely is pitching with the most confidence he ever has,” Donohue said. “Not that he wasn’t pitching with confidence before, but I can tell every time he goes out there he just thinks he’s going to dominate, pound the zone and do what he does. It’s been fun to watch.”
