Submitted photo Ray Hoppel was a varsity assistant coach for the Mifflin County softball team in 2019 when the Huskies captured the District 6 crown. He is shown here with his daughter, Gianna, who was a member of the team.

LEWISTOWN – There were probably a few raised eyebrows when Ray Hoppel decided to step away from the game of baseball in 2011.

Those same eyebrows – albeit with a few more gray hairs – were raised when Hoppel was approved as the Mifflin County Huskies’ new baseball coach Thursday night.

“I truly never stepped away from coaching,” said the 49-year-old Hoppel, who started coaching baseball at Lewistown Area High School as a volunteer in 1997 and served as an assistant and head coach from 1998 through 2011. “My daughter and son were playing ball, and it was kind of tough to get to their stuff.

“With the school merger, I felt like they wanted someone who was willing to make a long-term commitment. So, I never applied in 2011,” he added.

Hoppel had most recently been coaching softball for the past seven seasons – at the junior high level for two seasons then varsity and junior varsity the past five seasons. Last year, he went back to baseball, helping outgoing head coach John McGonigle as a junior varsity assistant.

In 2002, Hoppel was an assistant coach under John Bell when Lewistown went 19-5 and won the PIAA Class 2-A state championship. Hoppel then served as the head coach of the Panthers the last seven seasons.

“When I left in 2011, I felt like I was on good terms with the players and parents,” Hoppel said. “I’ve enjoyed working with kids.” Especially his own.

With his daughter, Gianna, now a junior at Division III Penn State-Altoona and shining on the softball diamond, and son, Grady, now a junior at Mifflin County High School, Hoppel said, “This felt like the right time to get the job.”

He and wife, Yvonne, live in Lewistown.

Hoppel is taking over a Mifflin County program that struggled at times this past season but wasn’t as bad as its 5-16 record might indicate. The Huskies fell to Altoona in the District 6 6-A semifinals.

A physics teacher at Mifflin County High School, Hoppel certainly won’t be a stranger to players on the team. He’s hoping to find the right formula for success to a once proud program.

“I have some things in mind, but to put numbers in them is a little tough,” Hoppel said. “I think it would be really important for the kids to gain some confidence.

“That will give us a big boost in accomplishing some things.”

Breaking down the game into some tangible goals is his first step to putting the program back on track. He certainly has a championship pedigree with the state title team, but that program wasn’t built overnight.

“A state title is certainly what everyone strives for,” Hoppel said. “We need to start out by taking care of the little things. If we do that, we can let the big things take care of themselves.”

The Huskies will have their work cut out for them, playing in the rugged Mid-Penn Conference with the likes of Commonwealth champion Central Dauphin, Altoona, State College, Central Dauphin, Cedar Cliff, Chambersburg, Cumberland Valley and Red Land.

Despite a disappointing season, Mifflin County placed three players on the all-division team. All three were juniors, so they should be back with Hoppel taking the reins.

Third baseman Xavier Smith, shortstop/pitcher Landen Eichhorn and outfielder/designated hitter Calin McKnight were the three selections.

Smith hit .345 and led Mifflin County with 15 runs scored, 20 hits, 12 RBI, five doubles and two triples. His two home runs tied the team lead.

Eichhorn batted .297, finishing the year with 19 hits and a double. He also scored seven runs and racked up 10 RBI. He was also solid at shortstop, making only two errors defensively.

McKnight hit .300, with 18 hits, seven runs scored and 10 RBI. He also doubled and homered once.

“They were super competitive,” Hoppel said of last year’s Huskies. “You always have a game here or there that gets out of hand. In some cases, a play here or play there changes the outcome.

“I don’t feel they’re far off,” he added. “I’m hoping the experience of coming up a little bit short, changes the results for this coming year.”

Hoppel, who has some unpacking to do to find some of his baseball equipment, said it feels good to be back in the high school ballgame.

“I don’t know that there was ever one ah-ha-type moment,” he recalled of his decision to apply for the head coaching job. “It just felt good – like it was the right time.”