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Williamsport’s Miller resigns as head baseball coach

Williamsport baseball coach Ryan Miller resigned Monday afternoon, citing personal reasons, and assistant coach Kyle Schneider was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Schneider becomes the sixth coach in program history.

Miller addressed the team Monday, explaining his decision.

“I am leaving on my own accord and am leaving for personal reasons,” Miller said. “Kyle is a great coach and this team will do great things. They are in good hands.”

Miller had a strong 2 1/2-year run after being named the team’s coach in 2016, going 34-15. Miller turned around a team that had won seven games the previous season. The Millionaires won eight more that season, going 15-6 and reaching the District 2-4 Class AAAA semifinals where they nearly upset defending Eastern Region champion Wyoming Valley West.

Williamsport then won its first district championship since 2011 last year, romping to the newly formed 6A championship and outscoring playoff opponents, 15-0.

The Millionaires went 1-4 at the Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach last month, playing against outstanding competition. The experience there paid big dividends as Williamsport won its last three games with Miller as coach, mercy-ruling all three opponents and outscoring them, 35-3.

Miller did not coach Williamsport last Saturday as it swept two games from St. Mary’s, remaining undefeated in Central Penn League play with three league contests remaining. The Millionaires (6-4) are trying to win the program’s first league championship since 2001. Miller put together a decorated playing career at Montoursville, helping lead the Warriors to the 2006 Class AA state final when he threw 40 1/3 scoreless innings at one point. He also played collegiately at Rider and was an assistant coach at Williamsport in 2015.

“This is an extremely sad moment for me. I’ve put so much into this program and into helping these kids to get the program to where it is right now,” Miller said. “I love these kids like they’re my own children. These seniors are the first group of players I coached and they mean everything to me. We have a great coaching staff and they will do a great job moving forward.”

Schneider was an all-state pitcher at Williamsport and helped lead the Millionaires to the 2011 district championship.

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