Pitcher Riley Miller continues to solidify her place among Hempfield softball greats as Spartans vie for state title

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 7:54 PM

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Riley Miller smiled as she emerged from the Hempfield dugout, a clump of cellophane-wrapped ice cubes resting on her right shoulder and another win in her back pocket.

The ace pitcher, just a few days removed from graduation, tossed a two-hitter as the WPIAL Class 6A champion Spartans clipped visiting State College, 2-1, in the PIAA first round on a sunny Monday afternoon.

Like so many previous starts, she painted the outside corner and made the softball move with her trademark spin.

While Miller is no longer a student at Hempfield, the Kent State commit continues to walk across the stage as one of the softball program’s greats.

Coach Tina Madison thinks that is a point that needs to be hammered home. She has been trumpeting for multiple seasons Miller’s praises. That she belongs among the state’s high-wattage stars.

“What else does she have to do?” Madison said. “I can’t remember a game in the last four years where she pitched bad. She is one of the best to play here.”

Hempfield (22-1) will look to take another step toward its fifth state title when it plays Chambersburg (19-5) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Iron Horse Sports Complex in Windber.

Madison, the fourth-year coach and former Hempfield and Penn State pitcher, will get little argument from any team that has faced Miller: The right-hander has been a model of consistency.

A two-time WPIAL champion, Miller has the numbers to prove that she is a Spartans all-timer.

Hempfield is a pitching factory with its pipeline to West Point Little League, and Miller, now in her fourth season as a starter, took her place as the next great arm to follow big names who preceded her in the circle: Morgan Ryan, Jaci Kalp, Lauren Shaheen, Maddie Uschock, Callie Sowers and Madison, who was Tina Skelly when she pitched, among them.

This season, Miller is 18-1 with a meager 0.39 ERA. She has 141 strikeouts and 22 walks in 106 1/3 innings.

With Monday’s victory, Miller moved into a tie for second place on the program list for career wins with her 61st. She tied Kalp, who played from 1993-96.

Morgan Ryan has the record with 73 victories. She has three WPIAL titles and Miller is the only other Hempfield pitcher to win multiple titles.

Miller is 61-10 for her career with a 1.41 ERA. Her 534 K’s put her fifth all-time at Hempfield.

“It’s pretty cool to know (about records), but it’s not really something I pay attention to now,” said Miller, who pitched Hempfield to a state runner-up finish in 2023. “In the moment, it’s not that important. I may think about it more when I’m gone.”

Ryan and Madison have the single-season mark for wins at 23. Miller, who won 19 games last season, could get to 21 and tie Uschock for third.

Ryan went 22-0 in 2017.

Madison’s minuscule 0.72 ERA for a season (2000) ranks first at Hempfield, and the coach also has the record for innings pitched in a season with 180. This year’s team has visited the mercy rule many times, cutting Miller’s innings.

After a sub-par effort by her standards in a 1-0 win over Seneca Valley in the WPIAL championship, Miller said the state opener was a nice bounce back.

“I needed a good game,” she said.

Spartans junior catcher Ella Berkebile has been catching Miller for about seven seasons, high school and travel ball included.

“We are really comfortable together,” said Berkebile, a Bucknell commit. “I can see by looking at her face what kind of mood she is in. Her drop-curve is her best pitch.”

Miller also has had a career year at the plate. She is hitting .396 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.

She said a state title would validate all of her achievements and career.

“We won section and WPIAL, now we want to win state,” she said. “We might as well go do it all. We’ve come this far. There is no point losing.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield