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Very few towns have a rich history of a sport more than Minersville has with softball.
As fans of SEC schools in college football like to say, “It just means more.”
In Minersville, softball is not just a sport. It’s a way of life. Young girls dream of being a Battlin’ Miner and playing for Minersville, and understandably so. Minersville High School softball has won a PIAA record 10 state championships, four more than the next-closest program.
“Everybody in Minersville knows the rich history of softball,” Minersville manager Matt Withelder said. “That helps our numbers at the Little League level, because we get a lot more girls who want to come out and play the sport.”
“When you think Minersville, you think of their numerous state championships that they won at the high school level,” he continued. “I think that excites the younger generation to want to try to compete for that and follow suit.”
But to have that consistent level of success, a strong youth program is a necessity, and much like those at the high school level, Minersville youth softball has a great history of success.
Four teams in the town’s history have reached the Little League Softball World Series; 15 teams have won state championships across multiple age groups.
Minersville was hungry to return to the state tournament
Now, the 2026 Minersville Little League Softball Major Division all-star team is the latest team to make its mark.
For the second straight summer, the team is making a trip to the Pennsylvania state tournament after defeating Carbon 2-0 in a three-game series last week to win the Section 6 championship.
They’ll be making the long trip to Union City outside Erie for the state tournament that begins on Wednesday.
While they fell short in last year’s state tournament, this year’s squad, led by a handful of players returning from last year’s team, is excited for its return trip.
“The girls are already hyped enough. I don’t have to hype the girls,” Withelder said. “A lot of these girls, this has been their goal since the onset of the season. They didn’t even know they were on the all-star team, but they worked.”
Of last year’s roster, seven players returned for this season, including Emalyn Daubert, Payton Withelder, Maddie Graver, Aly Heffron, Mallory Hopkins, Kenzie Gressens, and Grey Hopkins. For Withelder, Graver, and Heffron, this is their third year on the all-star squad.
He’s looked to those three to be leaders of this year’s team.
“I have those three girls. This is going to be their third year on this podium, and quite frankly, I really look to them to carry the load and get these other girls on their backs,” Withelder said about their importance.
But the team’s success goes well beyond those three players; he credits his seven returning players as a whole for providing the hunger that is needed for teams to make deep summer runs.
“You got seven of these girls returning. They made everybody else hungry,” Withelder said. “They’re hungry themselves. That’s awesome for me to see.”
A small town bond
One advantage of playing in a smaller town is the relationship and familiarity players have with each other. In bigger towns and cities, players may know each other by name or face, but may not be close friends.
For Minersville, that’s far from the case, as many of the girls have been playing sports with each other for several years. Not only have they played together, but they’ve played under Withelder in the process
“I’ve been coaching this core of girls since they were five years old,” he said. “I’ve coached them in multiple sports. I’ve coached them in soccer. I coached them in softball. I coached some of them in travel.”
It’s a unique coach-athlete relationship that isn’t often seen at this level.
“This group has bought in to me since they’ve been four or five years old, coaching them,” Withelder noted. “We’ve won at a lot of levels, whether it be Little League, whether it be soccer. We’ve had multiple soccer championships in the school league with a couple of these girls on this team, even at the travel level.”
The Minersville coaching staff has also spent a lot of time with each other, but their time together goes well beyond that of youth athletics.
Withelder is joined by John Hopkins and Scott Graver on the Minersville coaching staff. Like their daughters, Withelder, Hopkins, and Graver grew up playing sports together and now coach together.
As their girls begin to age out of Little League, it also means their time coaching their girls is nearing its end as well.
“We all played ball together going up through high school,” he said. “It’s just an opportunity, an awesome opportunity to sit back and actually watch our girls be able to take that stage. It’s kind of an exclamation point at the end of our coaching careers, because all those guys have coached for a long time as well.”
Memories that will last forever
Withelder will be the first to tell you he’s a little bit against the grain. While Little League as an organization is known for pushing for having fun over the results, Withelder will say the quiet part out loud: everyone has more fun when you win.
“If you’re winning, you’re having fun, and I know that’s a little bit against the grain sometimes of what people think, but it’s the reality of it,” he said.
That being said, win or lose this week in Union City, Withelder is excited for his team to make lifelong memories.
“The first thing I said to my team after they won the section… ‘Girls, you’re going to have different experiences throughout your life in athletics. But I can guarantee you, based on a dad’s standpoint and somebody who went through some walks of life with athletics, prepare yourself for one of the funnest weeks of softball you’re going to have coming up here.’”
“Last year was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had,” he added. “And I’ve had a lot of them.”
Amid all that fun, Minersville knows battles await.
“You’re not going to run into any slouches up there,” he said. “You’re going to run into eight quality teams that want to win. And you win your state, you get to go on ESPN, which is pretty awesome. Those girls really love it. That’s what they want to do.”
Ultimately, Minersville’s return trip is a testament to the players’ hard work over the years.
“Over the years, the players have attained high levels of success in multiple sports. Now, they have come to the point where we all hold each other accountable to raising that standard each and every year,” Withelder said. “It’s for this reason they have become easy to coach. They want to work hard and practice often in an effort to set their sights on bigger goals. That’s one of the main reasons I have loved coaching these girls and look forward to sitting on the sidelines one day and watching their hard work play out.”
If all goes to plan, Minersville will add another state championship to the town’s rich softball history. But no matter the result, the team has once again made its softball-crazed town proud.
Minersville fans who weren’t able to make the trip to Union City can follow along online via Gamechanger. The link to the stream will be available through the Minersville Little League Facebook page.
Continue reading...
As fans of SEC schools in college football like to say, “It just means more.”
In Minersville, softball is not just a sport. It’s a way of life. Young girls dream of being a Battlin’ Miner and playing for Minersville, and understandably so. Minersville High School softball has won a PIAA record 10 state championships, four more than the next-closest program.
“Everybody in Minersville knows the rich history of softball,” Minersville manager Matt Withelder said. “That helps our numbers at the Little League level, because we get a lot more girls who want to come out and play the sport.”
“When you think Minersville, you think of their numerous state championships that they won at the high school level,” he continued. “I think that excites the younger generation to want to try to compete for that and follow suit.”
But to have that consistent level of success, a strong youth program is a necessity, and much like those at the high school level, Minersville youth softball has a great history of success.
Four teams in the town’s history have reached the Little League Softball World Series; 15 teams have won state championships across multiple age groups.
Minersville was hungry to return to the state tournament
Now, the 2026 Minersville Little League Softball Major Division all-star team is the latest team to make its mark.
For the second straight summer, the team is making a trip to the Pennsylvania state tournament after defeating Carbon 2-0 in a three-game series last week to win the Section 6 championship.
They’ll be making the long trip to Union City outside Erie for the state tournament that begins on Wednesday.
While they fell short in last year’s state tournament, this year’s squad, led by a handful of players returning from last year’s team, is excited for its return trip.
“The girls are already hyped enough. I don’t have to hype the girls,” Withelder said. “A lot of these girls, this has been their goal since the onset of the season. They didn’t even know they were on the all-star team, but they worked.”
Of last year’s roster, seven players returned for this season, including Emalyn Daubert, Payton Withelder, Maddie Graver, Aly Heffron, Mallory Hopkins, Kenzie Gressens, and Grey Hopkins. For Withelder, Graver, and Heffron, this is their third year on the all-star squad.
He’s looked to those three to be leaders of this year’s team.
“I have those three girls. This is going to be their third year on this podium, and quite frankly, I really look to them to carry the load and get these other girls on their backs,” Withelder said about their importance.
But the team’s success goes well beyond those three players; he credits his seven returning players as a whole for providing the hunger that is needed for teams to make deep summer runs.
“You got seven of these girls returning. They made everybody else hungry,” Withelder said. “They’re hungry themselves. That’s awesome for me to see.”
A small town bond
One advantage of playing in a smaller town is the relationship and familiarity players have with each other. In bigger towns and cities, players may know each other by name or face, but may not be close friends.
For Minersville, that’s far from the case, as many of the girls have been playing sports with each other for several years. Not only have they played together, but they’ve played under Withelder in the process
“I’ve been coaching this core of girls since they were five years old,” he said. “I’ve coached them in multiple sports. I’ve coached them in soccer. I coached them in softball. I coached some of them in travel.”
It’s a unique coach-athlete relationship that isn’t often seen at this level.
“This group has bought in to me since they’ve been four or five years old, coaching them,” Withelder noted. “We’ve won at a lot of levels, whether it be Little League, whether it be soccer. We’ve had multiple soccer championships in the school league with a couple of these girls on this team, even at the travel level.”
The Minersville coaching staff has also spent a lot of time with each other, but their time together goes well beyond that of youth athletics.
Withelder is joined by John Hopkins and Scott Graver on the Minersville coaching staff. Like their daughters, Withelder, Hopkins, and Graver grew up playing sports together and now coach together.
As their girls begin to age out of Little League, it also means their time coaching their girls is nearing its end as well.
“We all played ball together going up through high school,” he said. “It’s just an opportunity, an awesome opportunity to sit back and actually watch our girls be able to take that stage. It’s kind of an exclamation point at the end of our coaching careers, because all those guys have coached for a long time as well.”
Memories that will last forever
Withelder will be the first to tell you he’s a little bit against the grain. While Little League as an organization is known for pushing for having fun over the results, Withelder will say the quiet part out loud: everyone has more fun when you win.
“If you’re winning, you’re having fun, and I know that’s a little bit against the grain sometimes of what people think, but it’s the reality of it,” he said.
That being said, win or lose this week in Union City, Withelder is excited for his team to make lifelong memories.
“The first thing I said to my team after they won the section… ‘Girls, you’re going to have different experiences throughout your life in athletics. But I can guarantee you, based on a dad’s standpoint and somebody who went through some walks of life with athletics, prepare yourself for one of the funnest weeks of softball you’re going to have coming up here.’”
“Last year was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had,” he added. “And I’ve had a lot of them.”
Amid all that fun, Minersville knows battles await.
“You’re not going to run into any slouches up there,” he said. “You’re going to run into eight quality teams that want to win. And you win your state, you get to go on ESPN, which is pretty awesome. Those girls really love it. That’s what they want to do.”
Ultimately, Minersville’s return trip is a testament to the players’ hard work over the years.
“Over the years, the players have attained high levels of success in multiple sports. Now, they have come to the point where we all hold each other accountable to raising that standard each and every year,” Withelder said. “It’s for this reason they have become easy to coach. They want to work hard and practice often in an effort to set their sights on bigger goals. That’s one of the main reasons I have loved coaching these girls and look forward to sitting on the sidelines one day and watching their hard work play out.”
If all goes to plan, Minersville will add another state championship to the town’s rich softball history. But no matter the result, the team has once again made its softball-crazed town proud.
Minersville fans who weren’t able to make the trip to Union City can follow along online via Gamechanger. The link to the stream will be available through the Minersville Little League Facebook page.
Continue reading...
