Pitt-Greensburg softball team makes history with 1st conference title, trip to NCAA Tournament

The emotion of the moment — and its humor — didn’t escape Hunter Taylor.

While the Fox Chapel grad was gathered with her Pitt-Greensburg softball teammates for the unveiling of the NCAA Division III tournament brackets, she was overwhelmed with the poignancy of the scene. The Bobcats had just won their first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title and qualified for NCAAs for the first time.

“I almost felt like I was going to cry,” said the sophomore shortstop. “That’s really big. That’s our name and our team going up (on the screen) for doing something good.”

But at the same moment she felt like she would break down in tears, she nearly broke out in laughter.

“The first thing I did was look at everybody else,” she said, “and I have never seen people pick their phones up so fast to take a picture of something. Everybody had their phones in front of their faces, and it was kind of funny, actually.”

After nearly a decade of build-up under coach Chuck Myers, the Bobcats finally could be taken seriously as a program. When Myers came on board nine years ago, he barely had enough players to field a team.

Fast forward to 2025, and with nearly two dozen players and time to put his stamp on the program, Myers has a champion. In addition to capturing their first conference title and NCAA bid, the Bobcats, after dropping both games in the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, set a program record with 21 victories.

Not bad for a team that was picked to finish fifth in the AMCC preseason coaches’ poll.

Myers, however, said he knew better.

“Before the season started, after we got out of fall ball, my assistant coach Alex Greenlee and I sat down and discussed where we thought we would be,” Myers said. “And we thought we truly had the makings of a championship team.”

After a 3-7 Florida trip, the Bobcats dropped a nonconference doubleheader to Grove City, knocking them to 3-9. UPG then won four of its next five, and Myers knew they were on their way.

“About a third of the way into the season, we thought we had something special with these kids,” he said.

UPG went 18-8 after the 3-9 start, culminating with the AMCC title May 11, a 5-1 win over top-seeded Penn State Altoona.

The AMCC Tournament started with a 3-1 win over Hilbert. Taylor hit a home run, and junior Autumn Powell (Freeport) picked up the complete-game victory, giving up only four hits with eight strikeouts.

A 3-2 win over Mt. Aloysius followed. Taylor’s 3-for-3 performance included another homer and a pair of runs scored. Ace pitcher Melanie Mienke, a senior from Plum, gave up only five hits with seven K’s and no walks.

Penn State Altoona was next, and Mienke got the start again. She didn’t have her best stuff, and she took a batted ball off her right knee during the game. Myers took her out after 4 2/3 innings and brought in Powell, who kept the game close.

That set the stage for more heroics from Taylor. She was on base when Makenzie Lang (Plum) homered to tie the score 2-2, then, in the top of the seventh, she hit a two-run double that proved to be the difference in a 4-3 win.

“Hunter is amazing,” said Mienke, the program’s all-time strikeout leader. “Hitting wise, having the home runs this year in those key moments to boost the energy and the confidence of everyone, she’s definitely been a key member of this team all season.”

Despite her difficult outing in the previous day, Mienke was back in the circle for the championship game of the double-elimination tournament. After Altoona went up 1-0 in the first inning, Myers said Greenlee, who serves as the pitching coach, wondered if it would be best to take her out. Myers, however, was willing to ride it out with a pitcher who had so much success in the past.

“I said we’re going to play it batter-by-batter,” he said.

Myers’ instinct proved to be correct. Mienke gave up only two hits the rest of the way, and the offense got a jolt from freshman Madyson Hart (Mt. Pleasant), who drove in two and scored two as UPG came away with the championship.

“It definitely meant a lot,” Mienke said. “My freshman year … we didn’t even make playoffs. So just to grow from my freshman year into the team that we are now, full roster, everyone coming together, it meant a lot to be pitching that game.”

Mienke was named first-team all-conference, marking the fourth time she was an All-AMCC honoree. Sophomore catcher Jessica Dunn also was named to the first team. Powell and senior Kylie Karns (Burrell) were second-teamers, and Shelby Cloak was the conference newcomer of the year. Myers was named co-coach of the year.

Best of all for Myers, this might be just the beginning. Only three seniors graduate, and Myers had more freshmen and sophomores on his roster this season (17) than he had total players in the past.

Taylor said she initially came into college softball with the attitude that she was just going to have fun and enjoy her final couple of years in the sport. This season changed her outlook.

“I feel like a lot of us are more optimistic about the future now,” Taylor said. “… I’ve even talked to some of the other girls about it, and we’re really confident in where the team can go in the future.”

As for Mienke, she is happy to leave the program in a better state than when she started.

“I think it’s definitely such a confidence booster in the program,” she said about the AMCC title. “They’re going to carry this energy into next year and be, hopefully, back-to-back champs.

“I definitely feel like our program has improved so much since I started my freshman year, from numbers, performance, team chemistry, everything.”