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<p>Ryan Stetz stepped down Friday as Nanticoke Area&#8217;s softball coach, three days after his team&#8217;s season ended in the PIAA Class 4A state semifinals.</p><p>Stetz coached Nanticoke Area for the past six seasons and had a 61-23 record in Wyoming Valley Conference regular-season games. He was an assistant for three years prior to taking over the program.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really every year the job is open and I&#8217;m just choosing not to reapply,&#8221; Stetz said. &#8220;Realistically, I think I&#8217;m in a good spot personally (with my family) and professionally in my life and will always care for the program. And for the program&#8217;s stake, it&#8217;s a great opportunity for the next person to come in with a great young team and an opportunity to play on a new field (at the high school).</p><p>&#8220;It seems like at this point it&#8217;s the right time to move on.&#8221;</p><p>Nanticoke Area is losing just two starters &#8211; pitcher Miranda Bohn and third baseman Megan Murphy. The Trojanettes finished second in Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference and finished as District 2 Class 4A runners-up.</p><p>&#8220;With the way the group of kids come through, it was in the back of my mind,&#8221; said Stetz, who teaches social studies at the high school. &#8220;When you&#8217;re around kids everyday, there are so many opportunities that realistically I wanted to leave it open to do other things professionally.</p><p>&#8220;Having Miranda and Murphy their seniors years, with this group, was definitely something special. We wanted to come out strong and represent our school and I think we did that to the best of our abilities.&#8221;</p><p>Stetz&#8217;s teams twice made it to within a win of playing for a state championship. Both times the Trojanettes lost to District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic. The other loss was in 2015 in the PIAA Class 3A state semifinals.</p><p>Stetz took over the program in 2013 after long-time coach Gary Williams resigned. He coached the Trojanettes to second-place finishes in Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference in 2013 and 2014, both times ending up behind Hazleton Area.</p><p>The WVC realigned softball in 2015 and Nanticoke Area finished tied for first place in Division 2 with Wyoming Area, only to lose in a special playoff game to determine the champion. The Trojanettes went on to the District 2 Class 3A championship, the ninth district title in the program&#8217;s history.</p><p>In 2016, Nanticoke Area tied for the WVC Division 2 title, but once again lost in a special playoff game &#8211; this time to Tunkhannock. The Trojanettes broke through in 2017 by winning the WVC Division 2 crown.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Stetz </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/web1_nan_dal5_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Stetz </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Nanticoke Area softball coach Stetz steps down after run to state semifinals