New Penn Hills baseball coach out to rejuvenate program

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, January 19, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Joe Capobianco Jr. kept tabs on the Penn Hills baseball program long after he graduated. Seeing the program slowly decline wasn’t something he ever wanted to see.

Capobianco didn’t want to be one of the people standing by and complaining about the program’s current status. This offseason, Capobianco, who is a 1996 Penn Hills graduate and lives in Economy, interviewed and accepted the job to lead the Indians’ varsity program.

“I don’t want to see Penn Hills baseball die,” Capobianco said. “I don’t want to be a person who complains about what is happening. Life is too short. It’s no one’s fault the program is where it is. It’s a cluster of different things that have happened.”

Over the past two seasons, Penn Hills has compiled a 5-28 record and lost all 24 of its section games. The Indians’ struggles have gone back much further.

Penn Hills hasn’t had a winning season since 2014 and hasn’t made the WPIAL playoffs since 2010.

Capobianco, who played baseball at CCAC South in college, previously served as an assistant with Freeport’s baseball program for three years. He also previously coached at Penn Hills for 11 seasons.

“I figured I was already driving 45 minutes. It’s just 45 minutes in the other direction,” Capobianco said. “Being an alum from Penn Hills, it’s a proud group of people. No one likes where the program is at. I felt I could make much more of an impact here than coaching in the North Hills somewhere.”

Capobianco has been pushing the program on social media. To help drive interest, Capobianco has been having regular workouts at the Fralic Center. After starting with about five kids for the workouts, he said the number has been routinely around 17.

Capobianco would like to find a way to help Penn Hills close the learning gap in the sport.

“I would love to have a middle school program,” Capobianco said. “I think a lot of the kids quit playing around 12 to 13. The game’s not as popular as it used to be. The game costs a lot of money to play. We have to be smart.”

Capobianco knows that growing the program will be a process. He is looking forward to the challenge of improving a team that means a lot to him. This process will require building from the ground up.

“I don’t want to put a timetable on anything,” Capobianco said. “I can’t look too far into the future. We want to be better every day. I would like to win games, but we must ensure they understand everything. When I notice something in practice that is wrong, I stop things and explain why.”